Report: Shalit talks to resume Tuesday evening
Palestinian sources tell Gaza-based news agency that Israeli envoys Dekel and Shin Bet chief Diskin to travel to Cairo again. PMO denies report
Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Cairo on the release of Gilad Shalit are scheduled to resume late Tuesday evening, the independent Palestinian Sama news agency reported on Tuesday.
The Prime Minister's Office denied the report.
Palestinian sources told the Gaza-based news agency that Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin and the prime minister's special envoy Ofer Dekel were to leave for the Egyptian capital within the next few hours in a bid to once again try and reach an agreement vis-à-vis the local mediators.
The sources told Sama that despite Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's recent declarations that the talks have failed, secret negotiations have been ongoing.
Meanwhile, Palestinian sources involved in the talks told Ynet that efforts were progressing on two levels: On the one level, an attempt to persuade Hamas to provide Egypt with an alternative list to the list of 125 prisoners Israel has refused to release; on the other level, an attempt to have those same 125 prisoners freed, but deported abroad.
The sources said that Egypt was engaged in intense efforts to move the talks forward.
Roni Sofer and Ali Waked contributed to the report
