Israel has agreed to free jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti in exchange for the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, the Palestinian newspaper Al-Hayat quoted an Egyptian officials as saying on Tuesday.
The report says that Israel has become more flexible of late and is now interested in completing the deal that would involve the release of other Palestinian prisoners as soon as possible.
However, Israel has refused to release Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar who murdered the Haran family in Nahariya in 1979.
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The official said that it was agreed that in the first stage of the agreement, Israel would release 100 Palestinian prisoners. In return, Gilad Shalit would be handed over to Egypt.
A week later another 150 prisoners would be released and Shalit would be returned to Israel. According to the report, a senior Hamas official is expected in the near future to arrive in Egypt to advance the negotiations.
The Hamas official in charge of the Shalit negotiations, however, said that no progress has been made on a prisoners deal.
Dichter comes out against releasing Barghouti
Public Security Minister Avi Dichter told the cabinet on Sunday that he is opposed to releasing Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences for the murders of four Israelis and a Greek month.
"Barghouti falls under the criterion of killer with thick blood on his hands, and he is to remain in prison to his last day on Earth," Dichter said during the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.
Dichter was responding to a recent statement by his colleagues, Infrastructures Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer and Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, who argued for Barghouti's release in the framework of peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.
Dichter went on to deny that Ofer Dekel, who is in charge of retrieving captive soldiers at the Prime Minister's Office, went to visit Barghouti at Hadarim Prison, where the former Fatah head is serving his sentence.
But Ben-Eliezer says that Barghouti is not being released because of internal Palestinian political considerations. In an interview for Army Radio, Ben Eliezer said Sunday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is delaying Barghouti's release because Abbas fears Barghouti might become a powerful rival if he is set free.
"If Barghouti's release comes up during peace talks, I will be the first to vote in favor. I'm fighting for his release so that we will have someone who is able to discuss a permanent agreement with us," Ben-Eliezer said.
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