Zahar, persuaded Mashaal
Photo: AFP
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Hamas strongman tells Der Spiegel magazine he is 'not willing to lead negotiations anymore' after Israel, Hamas backtracked on draft deal in December to release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldier
Hamas strongman Mahmoud al-Zahar, says he withdrew from the negotiations team for the release of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit because talks had reached a dead end.
In an interview with German weekly Der Spiegel, Zahar said that after an agreement was reached in December, both parties backtracked and refused to sign the deal, despite the many efforts he invested in persuading the Hamas leadership in Damascus.
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According to the deal, Israel would release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the kidnapped soldier. Zahar said the details of the deal were even approved by Israeli negotiator Hagai Hadas. He said all that was left was "to sign it all".
Zahar had traveled to Damascus to persuade Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal to sign the draft, and said this was no easy task, as the Hamas leadership in Damascus holds a tougher stance than the organization's heads in Gaza.
During Zahar's trip to Damascus, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a cabinet meeting in which he decided to pull Israel's most recent offer to Hamas for a prisoner exchange deal. At the time, the German paper quoted diplomatic sources in Jerusalem as saying that when Netanyahu reviewed the draft agreement, he decided that Hadas had "gone too far".
The Hamas official said that after the turn in the Israeli stance, Mashaal's negative response only emphasized the gap between the parties. In addition, the change in Israel's position led Ahmad Jabari , head of Hamas' military wing in the Strip, who was leaning in favor of the deal drafted in December – to retract to the negative stance held by Hamas in Damascus.
The soldier's father, Noam Shalit, resumed public protest after a long period of silence. Shalit said he did not see any diplomatic efforts being made toward his son's release, but added that the German mediator was still working on the case.
