Egyptian president: Israel sabotaged Shalit deal

Date: 10 / 07 / 2009  Time:  10:22
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies -

Last-minute Israeli demands obstructed a prisoner swap for a captured soldier held in Gaza, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Thursday.

In an interview published Friday in Israel's Hebrew-language Yedioth Ahronoth, Mubarak said that Hamas was close to handing Corporal Gilad Shalit over to Egypt, but suddenly stopped negotiating over the soldier's release when Israel backed out.

"You could have finalized the Shalit deal four or five months ago," the paper quoted the Egyptian president. "A number of conditions were set for a deal and we were already on the verge of finalizing and executing the first stage, but at the last minute you changed your mind at once, and the whole thing died. You caused the other side to toughen its stand and demand more prisoners."

Nevertheless, the Egyptian leader said that he believed the matter would be resolved, confirming recent reports of increased activity regarding the soldier. "I really believe the matter is about to be resolved soon, but cannot commit to an exact date."

The newspaper quoted other Israeli government sources as saying that over a final list of 450 prisoners demanded by Hamas, Israel refused to free 125, and demanded a new list instead, all apparently during the tenure of former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Mubarak added that Egypt would gladly host Shalit if a deal were actually made, but that only when Israel upholds the demands placed upon the country by Hamas will it get its soldier back. "The moment a deal is reached he will be handed over to us in Egypt, until Israel releases all the Palestinian prisoners. When this happens, Shalit will return home."

Regarding Shalit's condition, Mubarak said the soldier was fine "[a]s far as I know." "Gilad Shalit's condition is good, he is treated well and is safe and sound," the paper reported.

Meanwhile in Italy on Thursday, the Group of Eight industrialized nations called on Hamas to release the captured soldier.

In a previous response to statements made by Egyptian officials, spokesman Usamah Al-Mizeini said Wednesday said Hamas had received no formal information from Egypt about the resumption of prisoner-swap talks. He added, however, that Hamas leaders did not rule out the possibility of returning to the negotiating table when Israel was ready to meet its demands.

Israel's Channel Ten reported Tuesday night around the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 450 listed Palestinian prisoners in Israel will resume, immediately, "from the point they left off four months ago," under Olmert

But Israeli Channel Two claimed that Hamas had prepared a new list of prisoners to be released in return for Shalit. In the previous talks Olmert and his cabinet would not okay the release of between 50-100 of the names specified by Hamas, saying they had "Israeli blood on their hands" and could not be freed, according to the broadcast.

The report also noted the issue of a prisoner swap was among the topics of discussion between Israeli President Shimon Peres and his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak earlier this week during a news conference in Cairo.

Al-Mizeini, the Hamas spokesman, said the party would under no circumstances change the list of those demanded in return for Shalit, and noted that Hamas has had little contact with the soldier's captors.

Gilad in Egypt for Shalit talks

Thursday July 09, 2009 23:27 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Head of the Diplomatic-Security Bureau at the Israeli occupation government defense ministry, Amos Gilad, arrived in Cairo on Thursday for a series of talks with Egyptian officials on the release on corporal Gilad Shalit captured by the resistance in Gaza since 2006.

The one-day visit aims at discussing developments in talks that aim at advancing the stalled indirect talks between Israel and Hamas over the release of Shalit in the framework of a prisoner-swap deal.

 Egypt has been the main mediator in Shalit talks, but wide gaps between the Israeli position and the demands of the resistance have prevented a deal.

 Israeli Ynet News reported Thursday the campaign to release Shalit expressed disappointment with the government’s work in this regard since it took office 100 days ago.

The Ynet added that representatives of Noam Shalit, the father of the captured soldier, would be holding a meeting on Friday with Hagai Hadas, who was recently appointed by Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as the special envoy for Shalit talks.

Amos Gilad left Cairo on Thursday evening after concluding talks with several Egyptian officials. The talks included the efforts to maintain the truce in Gaza.