Hamas may delay response on Shalit deal

Three senior members of the Palestinian group Hamas crossed into Egypt from Gaza on Sunday to discuss Israel's response to a proposed prisoner swap, a delegation official said.

The officials, led by Hamas strongman Mahmoud al-Zahar, are expected to meet Egyptian security officials. They will later visit Syria for further discussions with Hamas leaders there.

Sources in the Strip estimated Sunday night that Hamas is expected to deliver to the German mediator a list of reservations over the Israeli cabinet's decisions as to the deal's conditions, while expressing its willingness to continue the talks.

Organization sources told Ynet that due to the disputes between the group's leadership in Gaza and the political bureau chiefs in Damascus over the Israeli refusal to release certain prisoners and its demand to deport dozens of prisoners abroad, Hamas' response to the latest Israeli offer may be delayed by several days.

Hamas is insisting that Israel release all the prisoners demanded by the organization and is refusing to accept Israel's demand for a mass deportation of prisoners abroad.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that no deal had yet been reached on a prisoner swap. He said he would hold talks in Egypt on Tuesday with President Hosni Mubarak to seek ways to promote Middle East peacemaking.

"As of now, there is no deal, and it is not at all clear if there will be a deal. It is clear that if we reach a practical proposal, I will bring it to the cabinet. But we still are not there and I don't know if we will be," Netanyahu told Likud ministers on Sunday.

The prime minister linked Saturday's killing of three al-Aqsa Brigades gunmen who were behind last week's shooting death of settler Meir Avshalom Hai to the prisoner swap negotiations. According to him, "One of the cell terrorist cell members who were killed had been released from Israeli prison. This is precisely the consideration standing against the Shalit deal.

"The issue of our citizens' security, particularly in the West Bank, is a cardinal consideration in the negotiations for Shalit's release. We want our prisoners returned, but at the same time we must minimize the risk to our citizens," said Netanyahu.

"We will not agree to expose our citizens to terror," he added.

Egypt and Germany have been mediating a possible exchange of prisoners by Hamas and Israel. Under a proposed deal, Hamas would release Gilad Shalit, an Israeli army conscript held captive in Gaza for almost three years, for some 1,000 of the 11,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails.

On Wednesday, the German mediator delivered Israel's latest response to Hamas, whose leaders were now weighing it. Officials familiar with the negotiations said Israel had ruled out releasing a handful of senior Palestinian militants serving life sentences for orchestrating lethal attacks on Israelis.

Tension between Israel and the Palestinians has risen in the last few days. On Thursday, Palestinians shot and killed an Israeli on the West Bank, and on Saturday Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians belonging to the Fatah movement, also on the West Bank.

Gilad Shalit was kidnapped into the Gaza Strip 1,281 days ago

Roni Sofer and Ali Waked contributed to this report