Last update - 00:00 25/10/2006
Meshal invited to Cairo for talks on new Shalit plan, unity gov't
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent
Palestinian sources say that the Egyptians have drawn up a comprehensive new proposal for freeing abducted soldier Gilad Shalit and establishing a Palestinian unity government, which they will present to Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.
The head of Egyptian intelligence, General Omar Suleiman, last week gave details of the plan to the head of Hamas's political bureau, Khaled Meshal, when they met in Damascus, the sources told Haaretz. Suleiman invited Meshal to Cairo to discuss the matter.
Senior Hamas officials are expected in the Egytian capital at the end of the week, but it is not yet clear whether Meshal will participate in talks about the new initiative. If Meshal goes to Cairo, the sources said, this would be an indication that Hamas is considering the initiative favorably.
Syrian representatives are also expected to participate in the Cairo meet; the Syrians were previously involved in the talks about a Palestinian unity government and the freeing of Shalit. The sources refused, however, to give details about the proposed initiative, saying only that it was a package deal that also included a temporary cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians. The initiative would be carried out in stages, they said, apparently in tandem with the freeing of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
The Egyptians are determined to see the plan to free Shalit through, and Egyptian representatives are playing a very active role in the contacts, they added.
Egypt has already also informed both the chairman of the PA, Mahmoud Abbas, and Israeli officials of the plan. Israeli sources who have heard the details believe that "there is something to talk about." Abbas has also not rejected the initiative out of hand. Sources in Hamas said last week that Israel has outlined guarantees that it will be prepared to give with regard to freeing Palestinian prisoners also at later stages of
the implementation of the deal, after Shalit is freed. Senior Hamas representatives even expressed optimism that the deal could be completed within two weeks. They estimated that almost 1,000 Palestinian prisoners would be freed in several stages.
On the other hand, sources in both Hamas and Fatah believe that if the deal fails to go through, there would be riots and clashes between the two camps. Abbas has ordered the heads of the organizations identified with Fatah in Gaza to deploy in the streets after the completion of the Id el-Fitr Muslim holiday. This is aimed at limiting the growing power of Hamas people in the Strip. On Sunday, four Fatah activists were assassinated in Tul Karm, Khan Yunis, Jericho and the al-Burrej refugee camp, apparently at the hands of Hamas. The two opposing camps have, however, not clashed with one another since the Israel Defense Forces' action in Beit Hanun at the start of Id al-Fitr.