VIDEO - Not without Gilad. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak held separate meetings with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman on Monday, both stating that securing kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit's release was a clear condition for any truce agreement with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Olmert said during his meeting with Suleiman, that "advancing Gilad Shalit's release is part of the agreement in the Gaza Strip.
The two met at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem for about 90 minutes. According to an early agreement between Olmert, Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni ,the prime minister clarified two points Israel is insisting on as part of an agreement in Gaza: As part of the ceasefire, terror organizations must stop arming themselves and halt the smuggling on the Egyptian border.
Olmert reiterated that Israel's freedom of action in the West Bank would continue even if the situation in the Gaza Strip is resolved. Suleiman promised that he would deliver the Israeli messages to Hamas and the Palestinian factions and would return with answers.
On the backdrop of the meeting, senior diplomatic officials in Jerusalem have said that Olmert and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will hold a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh in the near future. The Palestinians are not expected to take part in the meeting.
Binding the Gilad Shalit story with the truce in Gaza testifies to the fact that no real progress has been made in the talks for the soldier's release.
Barak: We can't continue to restrain ourselves
Earlier, Suleiman met in Tel Aviv with Defense Minister Barak, who said that "Israel views Gilad Shalit's release and the progress made in the talks for his release as having a key role in resolving the security situation in the Gaza Strip.
"Israel cannot continue exercising restraint over the ongoing terror from the Gaza Strip," he added.
Suleiman said before the meeting that he had "high expectations" that the outline of a truce between Israel, Hamas and the armed organizations in the Gaza Strip would be implemented.
Olmert and Suleiman in Jerusalem (Photo: Amos Ben Gershom, GPO)
The two met face-to-face for about 40 minutes at Barak's Tel Aviv residence. They later held a discussion in a larger forum.
Barak estimated that Israel would have to operate in the Gaza Strip in more extensive manner should the Palestinians fail to cease the mortar shell and Qassam rocket fire and the smuggling of weapons, rockets and terror activists into the Strip.
"Israel must maintain its ability to operate in the Judea and Samaria in a way that will guarantee its citizen's safety," Barak said after the meeting.
Meanwhile Monday, Egyptian security forces uncovered two tunnels used for smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip. Oil and fuel caches were also found inside the tunnels, AFP reported.
Senior Israeli officials estimated Sunday night that Suleiman's visit to Israel marks a last-ditch effort to try and end the Jewish state's ongoing battle with the Palestinian terror organizations without an IDF strike in Gaza.
Suleiman's visit to Israel on Monday may lead to progress in terms of the Shalit issue, as Suleiman serves as the main contact with Hamas and the soldier's kidnappers.
Shalit's father, Noam, told Ynet earlier Monday that it was 'inconceivable' that a truce agreement with Hamas will not include a deal for his son's release.
First published: 12:54, 05.12.8