Hamas: Progess on Shalit deal long way off
Islamist group leader Mashaal meets with Egyptian intel chief, says 'still not a short path to go' before prisoner exchange negotiations completed
There is still a ways to go before any agreement is reached on exchanging Palestinian prisoners for a captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, Hamas' Khaled Mashaal said Sunday.
Khaled Mashaal told reporters in Cairo that there was "still not a short path to go" before the negotiations were completed, despite the new addition of German mediation.
The rare Cairo visit of Mashaal, who lives in exile in Damascus, had raised hopes of new developments in the Shalit case. The soldier was captured by Palestinian terrorists in 2006 during a cross border raid on an IDF base near Gaza.
Mashaal, who is based in Damascus, met with Egyptian Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who plays a key role in the indirect talks between the Islamist movement and Israel and in the reconciliation talks between Hamas and rival Fatah of President Mahmoud Abbas.
According to Egyptian state television, Mashaal and Suleiman discussed the efforts to achieve an inter-Palestinian accord as well as a possible prisoner exchange deal with Israel, which would entail trading Shalit for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Last week, a Saudi newspaper reported that Mashaal will also meet with the German mediator assisting in the Shalit negotiations.
The report said Cairo would support any effort that may promote the deal, which "has reached its final stages."
Nevertheless, Arab sources familiar with the negotiations told Ynet that despite the positive reports, the deal is far from being finalized, with the main bone of contention remaining the list of "major" prisoners and the question of who will be deported where.
Hamas, said the sources, would like to see the Shalit case resolved as part of a wider agreement, which would also include lifting Israel's blockade on Gaza Strip and the opening of all Gaza crossings.
