 Another deadline for "zero hour" has been passed as rumors, leaks and more talks drown out the silence of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, whose condition still remains unknown. The saga may linger on for several more days, if not more. Israel has refused to divulge details of the proposed trade of approximately 1,000 terrorists for the soldier, who was kidnapped three and a half years ago.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the other six ministers of the mini-Cabinet, whom he trusts to honor a gag order on dicussions, have delivered their unpublished decision to German negotiator Ernst Uhrlau, who has postponed for another day a meeting with Hamas officials. Most estimates are that the sticking point in the proposal deal is the prospective destination of “heavy-duty” terrorists with “blood on their hands.” The general assumption is that the Prime Minister and at least half of the other members of the mini-Cabinet insist that they be deported outside of Judea and Samaria, a condition Hamas does not accept. As with previous negotiations, Hamas has floated various and contradictory rumors while top Israeli officials have measured their words. “Our top priority is to bring Gilad home," said Defense Minister Ehud Barak. "Not at any price, but in every possible and appropriate way." He is considered to be in favor of freeing terrorists who were convicted for involvement in murderous attacks, including the Park Hotel Passover bombing in 2002 that left 30 Jews dead and scores more wounded. Prime Minister Netanyahu declared there is a “need to retrieve captives and the need to protect Israeli citizens from future harm." The proposed deal has left Israeli in a virtual no-win position of risking Shalit’s life by rejecting a deal but also risking the lives of Israelis if the terrorists who might be freed follow previous patterns of returning to attack Israelis. Nearly 180 Jews have been murdered in recent years by terrorists who were freed after promising not to return to acts of violence. Defense Minister Barak admitted that Israel has slipped into a pattern of being forced into releasing terrorists either for political purposes or for kidnapped Israelis, some of whom have been returned home in coffins. “The Israeli government must change its policies on such deals,” he said, while adding that the current government inherited a situation from the previous government. Shalit was kidnapped while Ehud Olmert was Prime Minister. Immediately after the abduction, Olmert announced he would not conduct negotiations with terrorists and later vowed not to resume diplomatic talks with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas until Shalit was returned. As time went on, he relinquished both positions, leading to off-and-on mediated talks for more than two years.
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 Much work remains before a swap deal for the release of captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit's can be completed, a Hamas source said Saturday evening. Negotiation teams on both sides as well as the German mediator still have plenty of work left ahead of them before finalizing the deal, he said. The source estimated that no breakthrough in the Shalit affair can be expected before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming trip to Germany.
Egyptian and Palestinians sources estimated that the contacts will be accelerated at the end of the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice Monday. "Conditions are not yet right for a deal or even for a breakthrough," the Hamas source said. He added that the movement is still waiting for answers from Israel to be relayed by the German mediator. The source noted that some disagreements still persist, but refused to provide details regarding the names of Hamas prisoners still under debate. Over the weekend, Arab media outlets presented various reports in respect to the Shalit swap. According to some reports, Egyptian officials will be entering the Gaza Strip and transferring Shalit into Egypt as part of the agreement, before handing him over to Israel. Meanwhile, Fox News reported that the main disagreement still hindering a deal was the question of where to banish Palestinian prisoners from east Jerusalem.
 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to address recent reports indicating progress on a prisoner swap with Hamas that would see captive soldier Gilad Shalit returned to Israel, saying a deal with the Islamist group has yet to be finalized. During a Likud faction meeting on Monday, the PM said any prisoner exchange agreement would be discussed by the Knesset and would require the cabinet's approval. "I cannot say yet whether a deal will in fact be struck. It is not only up to us. There is hesitancy on the part of the other side as well," he said. "It is still unclear what will happen – what will be offered and to what we will agree to." During the meeting, Netanyahu spoke of the dilemma Israel is facing. "On the one hand, we want to look after our soldiers and bring them back home - a value that our nation and Jewish tradition hold in the highest regard - but on the other hand we want to avoid future kidnappings." A delegation from Hamas, which controls Gaza, crossed into Egypt for a meeting with Egyptian security officials in Cairo to discuss the deal that Egypt and Germany have been mediating. According to a member of the delegation, which is headed by Mahmoud al-Zahar and consists of senior Hamas figures from Gaza and Damascus, the Islamist group insists that Israel release imprisoned Arab-Israelis and residents of east Jerusalem as part of the deal. Israel has so far refused to include them in any prisoner swap. A Hamas source told Ynet that the talks in Cairo are also focusing on Israel's demand that some of the Palestinian prisoners be exiled and forbidden from returning to their homes in the West Bank. More at YNet
 Ali Waked Israel's reluctance to release a group of 125 Palestinians is holding up a prisoner exchange deal, Osama al-Muzaini, a senior Hamas figure in charge of the negotiations over captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, said Wednesday.
Nearly a month has passed since the Islamist group released a video proving that Shalit is alive and well, but both sides claim a prisoner swap is still far off. Al-Muzaini said Hamas cannot agree to a deal that would not include the release of the 125 Palestinians, all of whom are considered "heavy" prisoners. However, he said "serious and intense" negotiations were continuing, as are "efforts to remove the remaining obstacles."
"In any case, there are no developments at this time," said the Hamas figure, "But the German mediator wants to secure an agreement, and we are pleased with his work. I hope this affair will come to an end in the very near future."
Any future prisoner exchange deal will apparently include the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit.
 Nineteen female Palestinian detainees have been released from an Israeli prison in return for a videotape of a soldier captured by Gaza fighters in June 2006. A 20th female prisoner will be released, probably next week, the office of Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has said. Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh, reporting from the occupied West Bank, said those freed on Friday were handed over to the Red Cross after their release from the Hasharon prison. Eighteen of the prisoners were released to the West Bank, and the other, Fatima al-Zeeq with her 18-month-old baby was returned to Gaza. "Today is like a huge party," said Nisrin Hamdan, 26, as she waited outside Ofer military camp with several of her children, all wearing T-shirts bearing a picture of their 60-year-old mother, held for assisting a suicide bomber. "My mother has been absent for seven years and today we will have her in our home." Also among those awaiting their loved ones was Nawal Hossein, 37, an aunt of a 22-year-old prisoner who was serving a 20-month sentence for plotting to become a suicide bomber.
Odeh said the one-minute video received in the exchange by Israeli officials was seen as proof of life for its captured soldier, Gilad Shalit. The video was sent directly to family members in northern Israel. An Israeli official who viewed the video said Shalit looked healthy and coherent. The exchange deal marks a breakthrough in nearly three years of Egyptian-brokered negotiations between Israel and Hamas over the soldier. German mediators joined the talks in July. Shalit was seized by fighters from Hamas and allied groups during a raid on an Israeli border base in 2006. Until Friday, the only signs of life from Shalit have been several letters and an audio recording. Only one of the letters - written three months after his capture - has been released, just last month. Hamas has not allowed the Red Cross to visit the soldier. Hamas is demanding that Israel release hundreds of prisoners, many of whom are serving lengthy sentences for attacks on Israelis, in exchange for the soldier. Currently, more than 9,000 Palestinian prisoners remain behind Israeli bars.
The Palestinian Liberation Organisation, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas all insist there can be no peace deal with Israel before all these prisoners are freed. Source: Al Jazeera (English)
 Ali Waked Osama al-Muzaini, a senior Hamas member responsible for talks over the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilda Shalit, welcomed the "videotape deal" approved by the Israeli government on Wednesday, saying it was a source of optimism.
According to the Prime Minister's Office, Israel will release 20 female Palestinian prisoners in exchange for a videotape containing a sign of life from the captive soldier.
Al-Muzaini confirmed that the German mediator between Israel and Hamas had a key role in the deal, alongside Egyptian mediation efforts.
Israeli officials said Wednesday evening that the tape slated to be handed over to Israel is one-minute long and shows the kidnapped soldier with his face to the camera. The video will also include proof that it was taken recently.
"This deal was made possible thanks to the effort made by the German mediator and his ability to create a breakthrough," he said. "We don't want to sink in optimism because there are still obstacles, but this partial deal provides a foundation for optimism."
He noted that the rest of the female Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel would be released as part of the first stage of the Shalit deal. According to al-Muzaini, the first stage would include the release of 28 additional female prisoners, including Jerusalem residents.
The Shalit family welcomed the deal on Wednesday afternoon. "We wait breathlessly to receive a first authentic sign of life from Gilad," the captive's relatives said in a statement.
The deal is meant to take place this Friday. The list of prisoners slated to be released was published on the Israel Prison Service's website, in order to allow petitions to be filed against their release in the 48 hours left before the deal is implemented. Source: YNet
 GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The leader of Hamas headed to Egypt for a rare visit Saturday, fueling some speculation of possible progress in protracted negotiations between the Islamic militant group and Israel on a prisoner swap. Egypt has served as mediator since Hamas militants captured an Israeli soldier, Gilad Schalit, near Gaza in June 2006. Hamas demands the release of hundreds of Palestinians by Israel, in exchange for Schalit. German diplomats have become involved in the negotiations in recent weeks, making 11 trips to Hamas-ruled Gaza in the past month, said Ayman Taha, a Hamas spokesman. German mediators have helped arrange swaps involving Israeli captives in the past, and Taha described the German effort as "serious." However, there have been many false alarms about an imminent swap, and there were no concrete signs of progress Saturday. Mashaal, the top Hamas leader based in Damascus, was to arrive in Cairo later Saturday, Taha said. Hamas officials gave conflicting reports on Mashaal's mission. Some said he was only to discuss the internal Palestinian conflict with Egyptian counterparts, while others said the prisoner swap is also on the agenda. Hamas seized Gaza by force in June 2007, ousting forces loyal to pragmatic Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and leaving him only in control of the West Bank. A Palestinian unity deal is seen as a prerequisite for an eventual Mideast peace agreement, but months of reconciliation talks have yielded little progress. Read more here,,,, Source: FoxNews
 By KHALED ABU TOAMEH 'Allah is on the side of those who are patient." This is what a Hamas representative in the Gaza Strip had to say this week in response to a barrage of reports in the Arab media about a "breakthrough" in negotiations to achieve a prisoner exchange agreement with Israel. Indeed, since the abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Schalit in the summer of 2006, Hamas's attitude toward the prisoner exchange issue has been based on the hadith (saying) of Muhammad that patience is from Allah and hastiness is from the devil. Hamas is in no rush to strike a deal because its leaders truly believe that time is on their side. Osama Mazini, the Hamas official in charge of the "Schalit portfolio," said this week that Israel had no choice but to accept all of his movement's demands if it wanted to see the soldier reunited with his family. "We have a lot of patience," explained Mushir al-Masri, one of Hamas's prominent spokesmen. "We can wait for another 20 years." Hamas's main problem is that it has climbed a very high tree since the kidnapping of Schalit. Attempts by the Egyptians, Turks and now the Germans to help Hamas climb down have thus far been unsuccessful. And the more time passes, the more difficult it will be for Hamas to make concessions. The kidnapping of Schalit has cost Hamas and the Palestinians a very heavy price. More than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed and thousands others wounded since Schalit was snatched from his tank. Dozens of Hamas officials have been imprisoned by Israel, and the Islamic movement's security and civilian infrastructure in the West Bank has almost been wiped out, in part thanks to the cooperation of the Palestinian Authority. Read more here,,,, Source: JPost
 Hamas has denied reports that the group is close to finalising a deal with Israel over the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian fighters more than three years ago. Speaking on Al Jazeera on Sunday, Osama al-Mzainy, a senior Hamas leader who is responsible for the negotiations on Shalit, said that speculation over a deal was premature. "All statements about the optimism and expectations - and that the deal will soon be sealed - all these statements are exaggerated," he said. "We still need some time in order to overcome the obstacles placed by the Israelis." Hamas has demanded the release of of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in exchange for Shalit. "They will be released in two stages, al-Mzainy said. "The first group will comprise 450 prisoners, whose names are determined by Hamas... In the second stage, 550 prisoners will be released. Hamas is attached to this plan. "We will not accept any deal unless this request is accepted." Among those that Hamas wants freed is Marwan Barghouti, a popular leader from the rival Fatah movement, a demand that is thought to be one of the stumbling blocks in negotiations. Barghouti was arrested in the West Bank in April 2002, and is serving five life sentences in an Israeli jail. In recent days, media reports had suggested the two sides were close to agreement. Read more here,,,, Source: Al Jazeera (English)
ROME – Rome has given honorary citizenship to an Israeli soldier kidnapped by militants linked to Gaza's militant Islamic Hamas group three years ago. Sgt. Gilad Schalit's father, Noam Schalit received the honor at a city hall ceremony Wednesday. A giant photo of the soldier hung in the piazza, with the words "Rome wants its citizen Gilad Schalit free" — words Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno repeated at the evening ceremony. The city council voted to give Schalit honorary citizenship to coincide with Thursday's third anniversary of his capture by militants in a cross-border raid from Gaza into Israel. Talks to trade Schalit for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel have been unsuccessful. Source: AP
 The report in the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper comes in the wake of similar claims last week from European diplomatic sources, the official news agency of the Palestinian Authority and other sources. Israeli security officials said they were unaware of any progress on the matter and Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya said yesterday that the reports did "not reflect reality". Despite these reservations, the sense that something major is afoot is widespread in the region. According to the Asharq al-Awsat report, Corporal Shalit, who has been held in Gaza for three years without any visits by the Red Cross, will be visited by his family once he is transferred to Egypt. He will be held on "deposit" until Israel releases Palestinian prisoners. The number of prisoners to be released has been the main point of contention since Corporal Shalit's capture. Hamas has demanded the release of 450 hard-core prisoners, some of them serving multiple death sentences for involvement in the detonation of buses and other terror attacks. Israel has reportedly agreed to release only 175 persons on Hamas' list. Egyptian intermediaries have proposed a compromise figure of 325. The newspaper said Israel would release 400. In addition, Israel has already agreed to release about 600 other prisoners of lesser security weight, including women and youths. Under the mooted deal, Israel would ease its blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has permitted entry of little more than food and humanitarian aid to the area's 1.5million residents for two years and paralysed the economy. The Egyptian-brokered initiative, which reportedly has the blessings of Washington, goes well beyond a prisoner exchange and the lifting of the blockade. The release of Corporal Shalit would be the first step in a process aiming at achieving Palestinian unity as well as an overall peace agreement between Israel and the Arab world. Talks planned in Cairo between the Gaza-based Hamas movement and the Fatah movement, which dominates the West Bank, will focus on forming a unity government in the Gaza Strip until overall Palestinian elections will be held in January. As a first step, the Egyptians are attempting to promote a prisoner swap between Hamas, which holds about 200 Fatah prisoners in Gaza, and Fatah, which holds about 800 Hamas prisoners on the West Bank. If the Palestinians are able to resolve their internal differences sufficiently to establish a stable government, the way will be open to the resumption of peace negotiations with Israel. The US and moderate Arab states, mainly Egypt, would play key roles in this process. The international community advocates bilateral Israeli negotiations with the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon. Source: The Ausralian
By ASSOCIATED PRESS The Hamas deputy chief said Monday his group is ready to resume talks with Egyptian officials in order to reach a prisoner exchange deal with Israel as soon as possible over the release of captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit. Moussa Abu Marzouk told The Associated Press in an interview that Hamas "did not close and will not close the door until we release our prisoners from Israeli jails." Egyptian-brokered talks over a deal that would see Israel release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Schalit broke down last week. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said early this week that Hamas' excessive demands prevented the deal and indicated he would turn the matter over to his successor, Binyamin Netanyahu. Source: Jerusalem Post
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Another deadline for "zero hour" has been passed as rumors, leaks and more talks drown out the silence of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, whose condition still remains unknown. The saga may linger on for several more days, if not more.
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