Last update - 00:00 23/12/2007
Barak denies intelligence failure on abducted IDF soldier Shalit
Defense Minister Ehud Barak denied Sunday that Israel's intelligence agencies have failed on the issue of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit.
"There is a great amount of effort being made on this issue, and the information does not always lead to a [military] operation," Barak told the weekly cabinet meeting. "It's true that there isn't enough information to bring him home, but we are constantly working on the issue with utmost determination."
Shalit has been held in the Gaza Strip since his abduction at the hands of several militant groups, including Hamas, in a cross-border raid in June 2006.
Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Eli Yishai said during the meeting that, "until Shalit returns home, Israel has not done enough."
"Israel must act on all fronts, including negotiating with Hamas solely on the Shalit issue, because when it comes to results Israel has failed," he added.
Cabinet Minister Ami Ayalon on Sunday said that Israeli intelligence had failed by not gathering the means to secure Shalit's release.
"We could not carry out a military operation to release Shalit because of an intelligence failure," he said. "The intelligence community did not gather enough information to carry out such an operation."
Barak is scheduled to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday, and the talks are expected to focus, among other things, on Shalit's release.
In his one-day visit, Barak will also meet with intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and Defense Minister Mohammed Tantawi.
An Egyptian source told Haaretz over the weekend that there has been no breakthrough in the efforts to secure Shalit's release.
According to the source, some basic-level talks on a prisoner exchange are taking place but that there has thus far been no change in the sides' positions. He termed Barak's upcoming visit to Egypt "very important."
Ismail Radwan, a spokesman for Hamas, told Haaretz that the Shalit talks are at an impasse, and reiterated the organization's assertion that there has been no progress toward securing the abducted soldier's release.
Radwan said that Israel knows exactly what needs to be done in order to reach a deal, but that it appears Jerusalem is not interested in such steps. Defense officials in Israel also confirmed that there has been no significant progress in the talks.
Egypt recently revived its involvement in the indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, which was halted some three months before the recent U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland. Cairo revived the efforts in the wake of the summit.
The basic principles of a deal were agreed upon by the sides in early 2007, and include the initial release of 350 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, followed by the release of approximately 100 more.
The sides have yet to agree, however, on which prisoners Israel would release. Israel is willing to free some 40 of the prisoners included in a list handed over by Hamas, but has rejected the rest due to their responsibility for severe terror attacks.
Israel is considering relaxing its requirements, however, in order to allow it to agree to release more of the prisoners on the list.
Noam Shalit, Gilad's father, said he too has no new information on his son. "On Tuesday they will celebrate Christmas, and my son will have completed a year and a half in captivity," he said. "In terms of the final result - the result is nothing."
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