Two Israeli envoys make final attempt to free soldier
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 16, 2009 00:00
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert gave his two top negotiators a deadline for yesterday to win the release of an Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants as part of a final push to strike a deal with Hamas before he steps down.
Olmert said he sent Shin Bet security service chief, Yuval Diskin, and veteran prisoner-swap negotiator Ofer Dekel to Cairo over the weekend to make "an additional effort" in Egyptian-mediated talks with the radical Hamas movement, which has been holding Sgt. Gilad Schalit since June 2006.
"I instructed them to complete the talks by this evening," Olmert said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday. "It is my intention to convene tomorrow a special Cabinet meeting to hear a situation report and to take any decision that is required according to the report we receive."
Media hopeful
Israeli media was buzzing yesterday with hopes that Diskin and Dekel would return with a deal for government endorsement. But ahead of yesterday's meeting, Cabinet Minister Isaac Herzog urged caution.
"We do not know exactly what the (Hamas) demands are, they haven't been put to us, they will certainly be presented tomorrow," he said. "I think it would be appropriate to keep our exceptions realistic."
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said there had been no new developments, and he considered Olmert's statement, and the arrival of the negotiators, to be bargaining tactics. "We have not received anything new," he said. "We will not change our position."
Hamas is seeking the freedom of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in exchange for Schalit. Israel has a long history of agreeing to lopsided swaps to bring home soldiers captured or killed. Local media reports said the last stumbling block was an Israeli demand that some of the prisoners slated for release be deported to the Gaza Strip or elsewhere after they are freed. Israel fears they would carry out new attacks if they are permitted to return to homes in the West Bank.
"I instructed them to complete the talks by this evening," Olmert said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday. "It is my intention to convene tomorrow a special Cabinet meeting to hear a situation report and to take any decision that is required according to the report we receive."
Media hopeful
Israeli media was buzzing yesterday with hopes that Diskin and Dekel would return with a deal for government endorsement. But ahead of yesterday's meeting, Cabinet Minister Isaac Herzog urged caution.
"We do not know exactly what the (Hamas) demands are, they haven't been put to us, they will certainly be presented tomorrow," he said. "I think it would be appropriate to keep our exceptions realistic."
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said there had been no new developments, and he considered Olmert's statement, and the arrival of the negotiators, to be bargaining tactics. "We have not received anything new," he said. "We will not change our position."
Hamas is seeking the freedom of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in exchange for Schalit. Israel has a long history of agreeing to lopsided swaps to bring home soldiers captured or killed. Local media reports said the last stumbling block was an Israeli demand that some of the prisoners slated for release be deported to the Gaza Strip or elsewhere after they are freed. Israel fears they would carry out new attacks if they are permitted to return to homes in the West Bank.