Report: Ofer Dekel leaving Cairo
Prime minister's special envoy returns to Israel after three days of Egyptian-mediated talks with Hamas. Meanwhile Gilad's brother, Yoel, joins his parents at the protest tent in Jerusalem
Ofer Dekel, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's special envoy in the negotiations to free Gilad Shalit, left Cairo late Thursday night after taking part in a round of Egyptian-mediated talks with Hamas, sources involved in the talks told AFP.
The sources were quoted as saying that perhaps "there is a glimmer of hope."
The three involved in the talks, Israel, Egypt and Hamas, are determined to push forward with the negotiations. Dekel has been keeping Olmert abreast of any developments, and the envoy consults with the prime minister on Hamas' demands.
At this point none of the advisors involved in the indirect talks with Hamas have been sent to Cairo, including Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin, head of the Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Security Bureau Amos Gilad or Olmert's top diplomatic advisor, Shalom Turgeman.
Yoel Shalit with his father Noam on Thursday (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
The Prime Minister's Office has been seeking to keep expectations to a minimum from the Cairo talks, with developments being kept quiet. At present time however, cabinet ministers have yet to be summoned to a meeting of the Ministerial Committee on National Security, which would be required to authorize any deal, should one materialize.
Meanwhile at the protest tent outside Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's residence in Jerusalem on Thursday, Gilad's older brother Yoel joined parents, Noam and Aviva Shalit, and grandfather Zvi Shalit.
Named after his father's twin brother, who was killed in the Yom Kippur War, the 25-year-old Yoel made the trip to Jerusalem while on break from his studies at the Technion. He arrived late in the evening and did not speak to the media.
Several dozen kilometers from there, Olmert said his heart went out to the family. In a farewell speech to the Union of Local Authorities in Israel, the outgoing prime minister said: "I know how much pain, suffering and longing they are going through. I know how important it is to them that this pain finally end."
Olmert hinted at the indirect talks in Egypt, saying: "I pray to God Almighty to help me be the one to bring him home in these coming days." The efforts to release Shalit have picked up speed over the past week, towards the end of Olmert's term as prime minister.
