Last update - 00:00 30/11/2006
Ben-Eliezer: Egyptian official sees prisoner swap within 3 weeks
By The Associated Press
Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman has told Israeli officials he believes an Israel Defense Forces soldier captured in June by Hamas-linked militants could be released within three weeks, Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer said Thursday.
Suleiman told Israeli officials Wednesday that he was optimistic a prisoner swap leading to the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit could be quickly negotiated, said Ben-Eliezer, who also met with the Egyptian official.
The negotiations over Shalit's release are nearing an end, Suleiman said after his talks in Israel on Wednesday.
"He [Suleiman] believes Gilad will be home within three weeks," Ben-Eliezer told Army Radio.
But other Israeli officials cautioned against being overly optimistic, saying little progress had been made in the talks with Suleiman. Ben-Eliezer said he himself is praying that Shalit will be released by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday that he was "very satisfied" with talks between Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Suleiman in Tel Aviv earlier in the day.
Shalit's capture in a cross-border raid from Gaza sparked five months of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in the coastal area. The violence has been quelled by a cease-fire that went into effect on Sunday, a move that has made it possible for the sides to attempt to advance talks for Shalit's release.
Palestinians are demanding Israel free more than 1,000 prisoners in exchange for Shalit. Israel holds more than 9,000 Palestinian prisoners in its jails.
An Israel political source said Thursday that Israel is considering the release of Palestinians jailed in connection with deadly militant attacks as part of efforts of the swap.
Israel has long balked at freeing prisoners described as having "blood on their hands", citing fears of a backlash.
But the political source said that Israeli officials were discussing whether to soften that stand in order to retrieve Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was seized by Palestinian gunmen outside the Gaza Strip on June 25.
The source said there was still no question of freeing Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis themselves.
"We are talking about Palestinians who, say, drove suicide bombers to their targets or provided other support. Another category is terrorists who were captured before they could carry out attacks. This is unprecedented," the source said.
"The term 'blood on their hands' cover a wide range of prisoners. We are not talking about amnesty for everyone."