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Carter: Hamas eager to renew talks for Shalit's release
Former American President Jimmy Carter... the worst president ever... said Thursday that Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, was interested in renewing negotiations for a prisoner swap deal in exchange for captive Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit.
Top Hamas official Musa Abu Marzuq confirmed Saturday reports recently denied by the Hamas party that the German mediator, Gerhard Conrad, visited the coastal enclave two weeks ago in a bid to resume the frozen negotiations. "They are very glad that the German negotiator has been back on the scene lately and that Israeli Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu has made some positive statements about a prisoner exchange," Carter said, adding that "they maintained that they are very eager to have a swap but they are demanding the release of some prisoners that are not acceptable to the Israeli negotiators." The former president, who arrived in Israel with a delegation of former world leaders, The Elders, held meetings with Hamas officials in Syria, during which they discussed the stalled negotiations fro Shalit's release and Middle East peace talks. Shalit was kidnapped by Gazoo Orcs and similar vermin in a cross-border raid in 2006 and has been held by Hamas since. Hamas has demanded the release of hundreds of Paleostinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons in exchange for Shalit's freedom. The negotiations have been stuck in recent months following Conrad's failure to reach a deal. The previous round of talks broke down due to Israel's rejection of Hamas's demands. The Elders delegation includes, besides Carter, former Irish president Mary Robinson and former UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. Posted by: Fred 2010-10-22 |
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