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Carter: Israel to get new Shalit letter

Former US president tells al-Jazeera that Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal has agreed to deliver new sign of life to kidnapped soldier's family. Latest letter from captive received over two years ago

Former US President Jimmy Carter says the Hamas organization is willing to transfer a letter from kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit to his family in Israel.

 

Carter said in an interview to the al-Jazeera network on Friday evening that Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal agreed to deliver the letter during his latest meeting with the former American president.

 

I recently transferred a letter from Shalit's family to him and received consent to transfer a letter from him back to his father, said Carter.

 

The former president has already mediated between Israel and Hamas in the past. In June 2008, Carter transferred a third letter from Gilad Shalit to his parents. A year later, he transferred a letter from Shalit's parents to Hamas.

 

Gilad Shalit was last seen in October 2009, when Hamas handed over to Israel a two-minute clip showing the kidnapped soldier addressing his parents, in exchange for 20 female Palestinian prisoners. Shalit appeared to be in good health in the video.

 

The German-mediated talks for the kidnapped soldier's release were resumed recently. The London-based al-Hayat newspaper reported that the German mediator in the Shalit prisoner-swap deal met in September with a Hamas commander jailed in Israel, Sheikh Hassan Yousef.

 

According to a report in Saudi newspaper al-Madina, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is no longer ruling out the possibility of releasing former Fatah Secretary-General Marwan Barghouti from Israeli prison, in exchange for the captive soldier.

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.12.10, 23:53
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