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State official: Shalit deal won't be finalized soon

Top seven cabinet ministers to reconvene at Prime Minister's Office Monday morning to debate prisoner exchange deal aimed at securing kidnapped soldier's release. Hamas source says frequent meetings being held on Israeli side for public opinion purposes

IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi on Sunday evening joined the forum of seven senior ministers who convened at the Prime Minister's Office to discuss the price Israel is required to pay as part of a prisoner exchange deal aimed at securing the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.

 

The discussion appeared to have ended without any decisions, and is expected to resume at 10:30 am Monday. State officials estimated that the deal would not be finalized in the near future.

 

Sources in Jerusalem said that during the discussion, the prime minister expressed his objection to the release of prisoners with blood on their hands to the West Bank.

 

Shalit's parents, Aviva and Noam, are expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. they were informed on Sunday night that the meeting would be held after the seven-minister forum's meeting. Noam Shalit told Ynet that the meeting was scheduled in advance and that he did not know what he was about to hear from Netanyahu.

 

The meeting was held on the backdrop of reports that the ball is now in Israel's court and that the Palestinian organization was awaiting Netanyahu's response. A series of meeting and consultations were held in the Prime Minister's Office throughout the day, including with members of the intelligence branch.

 

A state official noted, however, that "a cabinet meeting is unlikely to convene this week" to vote on the matter. Any prisoner exchange deal will have to be brought to the government's approval before being implemented.


Rally for Shalit outside Prime Minister's Office (Photo: Reuters)

 

Ashkenazi said several weeks ago that "as the army's commander and as the person who sent Gilad Shalit, we will exert every effort in order to complete the mission of bringing Gilad back home. We are making every effort to bring the soldiers back from their missions. Unfortunately, soldiers are injured and also killed, but the IDF does not leave the injured behind."

 

Hamas source: An Israeli show

Meanwhile, Hamas sources estimated that the frequent meetings on the Israeli side were being held for public opinion purposes, in order to convey the message that the Israeli government was seriously considering the possibility of implementing the deal.

 

"We are unmoved by these discussions. The Israelis have held constant discussions in the past, and nothing came out of it," a Hamas member told Ynet.

 

"As far as we are concerned, there is no change and we expect to hear from the Egyptians and Germans what the Israeli side is going to say. It doesn’t matter to us whether it's after one discussion or five," he clarified.

 

The source reiterated that the price the Palestinian organization is demanding for the kidnapped soldier has not changed. "It should be clear that these meetings could have been held a year or two years ago because our stance has not change. Therefore, we don’t understand the meaning of this Israeli show," he said.

 

Hamas sources clarified, however, that the movement was holding constant talks with the German mediator in order to understand the seriousness of the Israeli side in terms of the response Hamas is waiting for.

 

'Something must happen'

Shimshon Liebman, chairman of the Shalit campaign, said Sunday evening that the family and campaign members were moving between the hope that the negotiations would finally end successfully and the fear of another failure.

 

"The feeling at the moment is as if a court is sitting in there and ruling whether Gilad will live or die," he said.

 

According to Liebman, the campaign has kept quiet over the past few weeks, "due to the serious work being done. It was clear to us that we must give the prime minister and his mediator, Hagai Hadas, the respect and calm to do the work. The information accumulated over the past three days has led us to the conclusion that we must now go out and be at the center of the decision making."

 

Liebman added that the feeling outside the Prime Minister's Office on Sunday evening ws not easy. "It was a tough and threatening day. The family stood outside the Prime Minister's Office, not inside. There is the fear of a déjà vu, in which we reach the top of the mountain once again and are about to fall. On the other hand, there is a feeling that perhaps this time, after all of Hagai Hadas' hard work, something must happen."

  

Gilad Shalit was kidnapped to the Gaza Strip 1,274 days ago

 

Ali Waked and Ahiya Raved contributed to this report

 


פרסום ראשון: 12.20.09, 23:37
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