Report: Hamas toughens stance on Shalit deal
Source close to negotiations for release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit tells Ynet Hamas seeks to change outline of deal. Islamist group wants Israel to release 750 prisoners when Shalit is transferred to Egypt
Hamas is requesting a change in the outline of a prospective deal for the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, a Palestinian source close to the negotiations told Ynet on Wednesday.
Hamas is asking for all 450 of the "major prisoners" to be released simultaneously with the release of Gilad Shalit instead of in three phases, as Israel had requested.
"It appears that the Israeli side is not in a hurry to finish a deal to release Shalit," the source said.
Until now, the proposed agreement was supposed to contain three main phases. During the first, Shalit was to be transferred to Egyptian custody after which Israel was supposed to release 100 so-called "major prisoners," a group of Palestinian legislators from Hamas, as well as minors and women imprisoned in Israel.
In the second phase, Shalit was to be handed over to Israel and, at the same time, 350 Hamas prisoners were to be freed from prison. During the third part, which had no exact timeframe, Israel was to release 500 additional prisoners.
Now, Hamas is asking for 750 prisoners – including the 450 "major" ones – to be released during the first phase as Shalit is handed over to Egypt. Five-hundred more would be released at a later date.
"Israeli public opinion and Shalit's family should know that Israel is being evasive in negotiations over the soldier's release and is responsible for the deal's delay," the source told Ynet.
According to the source, Hamas believes that the differences in opinion between Ofer Dekel, the official appointed to handle negotiations for kidnapped soldiers, and Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin, are responsible for hamstringing the negotiations.
Israel opposes handing out a list of the prisoners it intends to release, which is another Hamas demand, the source said.
Progess in negotiations
Muhammad Nazzal, a member of Hamas' political bureau in Damascus, said last month that great progress had been made in the negotiations for the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Shalit's family hired two French attorneys last month in an attempt to meet with the Israeli soldier's kidnappers. The two, Emmanuel Altit and Stephane Zerbib, said that they have been invited to visit the Strip in order to meet with senior Hamas members.
At the press conference on last week, the lawyers said that they were waiting for permission from the Israeli authorities to enter the Gaza Strip in order to speak with the senior Islamic organization's leaders about the kidnapped soldier's release.
As of right now, Israel has barred the legal representatives from entering the Palestinian enclave.
"I have been told that the involvement of the French lawyers is likely to harm the negotiations for the release of Gilad, but there currently is momentum that we cannot overlook," Noam Shalit, said.
