Negotiations to release Gilad Shalit to resume next week

PM's Office official charged with heading efforts for kidnapped soldier's release to leave for Egypt next Tuesday for renewed talks. Palestinian sources say deal has chances of materializing by next month

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3557806,00.html

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"Defense Minister Ehud Barak has announced that he will meet with the families of the three kidnapped soldiers Eldad Regev, Ehud Goldwasser, and Gilad Shalit on Friday, due to the recent developments in negotiations with Hizbullah and Hamas.

Ofer Dekel, the Prime Minister's Office emissary in charge of Israel's efforts on behalf of its missing and captive soldiers is scheduled to leave for Cairo next Tuesday in order to renew the negotiations for the release of Gilad Shalit.

The meeting was scheduled after Head of the Defense Ministry's Security-Diplomatic Bureau Amos Gilad, who was named pointman for the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and the militant groups in Gaza Strip, met with Egyptian Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman, earlier this week.

"If it wasn't for the truce, any possible progress in Gilad's matter would have been postponed indefinitely. A wide scale military operation in Gaza could have irrevocably damaged any attempts to bring about his release," a senior diplomatic source told Ynet Thursday.

"The Israeli government will eventually have to pay a painful price – the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners," a security source told Ynet."

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"Palestinian sources familiar with the negotiations told Ynet that the ceasefire agreement called for the negotiations on Shalit's release to be resumed 24 hours after the truce's onset. Since the "following day" falls on the weekend, Dekel will leave for Egypt next week. A Hamas delegation will leave for Egypt at the same time.

Both parties are said to remain in Cairo pending an agreement on Shalit's release."

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"Israel Radio on Monday quoted a senior Palestinian source as saying that Israel and Hamas will soon launch marathon talks in order to reach a deal on the release of Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, abducted from his army base in 2006 and held in Gaza ever since.

According to the radio, the source told the A-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper that delegations from both sides will stay in different parts of the same Cairo hotel, and an Egyptian negotiator will shuttle between them.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian daily Al-Ayam reported that the current snag in negotiations concerns 100 Palestinian prisoners whose release Hamas is demanding. Israel has reportedly agreed with Hamas on the number of prisoners to be released, but not their identity.

Al-Ayam, concerns 100 of the 350 prisoners that Israel is expected to release in the first phase of the deal."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/995433.html