|
Hamas accuses Israel of back-pedaling in Shalit negotiations
Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas official in Gaza, on Friday accused Israel of reneging on offers made during the negotiations for the return of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit. In an interview with the Palestinian Ramatan News Agency, Al-Zahar claimed that Israel had offered to free 450 Palestinian prisoners once Shalit was returned to Israel, and then release an additional 550 Palestinians approximately two months later. Al-Zahar said that Israel is now offering to release only 450 prisoners in exchange for Shalit, and warned Israel that back-pedaling could lead to the negotiations being scrapped altogether. Another senior Hamas official was also quoted on Friday as saying the group will not renew negotiations for Shalit's release unless Israel meets its preconditions, the London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported. According to the report, Hamas laid out three conditions for the renewal of negotiations with Israel: release of all Palestinian prisoners whose names appear on the list that had been given to Israel via Egyptian mediation; implementation of all Israeli commitments in the framework of the ceasefire agreement, including the reopening of Gaza Strip crossings for the passage of goods; the opening of the Rafah crossing. The newspaper further states that Ofer Dekel, Israel's chief negotiator for securing the release of Shalit, has transferred an Egyptian-brokered list to Hamas of the 450 Palestinian prisoners that Israel would be willing to release in exchange for Shalit. However, the Hamas official stated his organization's insistence on the original list of names, which includes prisoners serving lengthy prison terms, members of the Hamas parliament, as well as women and children. Hamas also demands the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Egypt, according to the report. "It doesn't make any sense that Egypt will moderate our prisoner exchange talks with Israel while it imprisons our members," the official said. Posted by: Fred 2008-09-20 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=250481 |