Report: Shalit deal hinges on prisoners' consent to deportation
Sources involved in Cairo talks on Shalit's release say Hamas insists only small number of Palestinian prisoners will be deported to Gaza or abroad as part of deal, and only after agreeing to expulsion
Hamas has demanded that only a minimal number of the prisoners slated to be released in exchange for Israeli captive Gilad Shalit will be deported to the Gaza Strip or abroad, and insisted that the prisoners give their consent to the move before any deal is finalized, sources involved in the negotiations in Cairo told Ynet Friday.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's special envoy in the negotiations for Shalit's release, Ofer Dekel returned from Egypt to Israel Thursday night for consultations. Dekel will brief the prime minister on progress in the talks and on the yet-to-be resolved issues vis-à-vis Hamas.
Dekel is expected to return to Cairo in the coming days to continue the intensive negotiations.
Hamas officials said Friday that the deal still hinges on Israel's willingness to release the 450 prisoners included on the list that was presented by the organization shortly after Shalit was kidnapped.
According to the sources, the list contains the names of several Israeli-Arab prisoners, as well as the secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Ahmad Sadat – who orchestrated the assassination of Minister Rehavam Zeevi, and former Tanzim chief Marwan Barghouti.
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.
Ali Waked contributed to the report
