Hamas
politburo chief Khaled Mashaal said Saturday night that his organization was interested in a deal for the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit
"as soon as possible."
Mashaal rejected the claims that the organization had set new conditions for Shalit's release, but clarified that it would not agree to "any extortion on the part of Israel."
| Prisoner Swap |
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| Israeli mediator says deal with Hamas ‘not close’ / Ynet and AP |
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Amos Gilad, the Defense Ministry's top mediator in Shalit negotiations says deal far from close, warns Hamas' strength over Fatah makes peace talks unfeasible. ‘It's very difficult to sign an accord with half your body,’ he says |
| Full story |
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"However, we do object to any extortion on the part of Israel, which is interested in reducing the number of Palestinian prisoners slated to be released."
According to Mashaal, there is no agreement between Hamas and Israel on the number of prisoners who will be released in exchange for the abducted soldier.
"We demand the release of more than 1,000 prisoners, but Israel is only willing to free 450," he claimed.
He clarified that the organization had no plans to sabotage the talks with Israel.
"We are committed to the success of the negotiations as soon as possible, as we are interested in seeing our prisoners return home. However, we reject the Israeli extortion over the number of prisoners," he added.
About two weeks ago, French President Nicolas Sarkozy delivered a letter
addressed to the kidnapped soldier from his father to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The letter was reportedly handed over to Mashaal by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, and Mashaal had promised that it would be delivered to the soldier's abductors.
Several days later, Hamas' political bureau member Mohammed Nasr told
The Associated Press that the emir of Qatar gave the letter to Mashaal during a visit to Damascus where he participated in a four-way summit with the leaders of Syria,
France and Turkey.
The talks for the release of Shalit, who has been held captive in Gaza for more than two years now, are being mediated by Egypt
but have yet to bear results.
The London-based al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper reported
Thursday that Hamas has decided to find a new mediator to take over for Egypt and broker a deal with Israel.
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