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Last update - 08:30 09/09/2008
Israel completes prisoner list for possible Shalit swap
By Barak Ravid
Tags: Israel, Gilad Shalit, Gaza 

A special ministerial task force has completed drafting a list of 450 Palestinian prisoners whom Israel would be willing to release in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.

At the same time, Israel is threatening to take "various active measures" should Hamas continue to delay talks over the captive soldier. Israeli officials sent this message to Hamas via an Egyptian mediator last week.

The ministerial panel, headed by Vice Premier Haim Ramon, finished drafting its list on Sunday and submitted it to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Sometime in the next few days, Olmert will discuss it with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and if this troika approves the list, it will be sent to Egypt for transfer to Hamas as a formal Israeli offer.
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This is the first time Israel has submitted a list of its own, rather than merely approving or rejecting names submitted by Hamas.

Of the 450 prisoners specifically requested by Hamas, Israel had previously agreed to release only about 70, and all of them appear on the list drafted by the ministerial panel. The list also includes additional names on Hamas' list that Israel had originally vetoed, but whom it is now prepared to release in line with the new, more flexible criteria for freeing prisoners with "blood on their hands" that Ramon's team approved.

Previously approved criteria had barred the release of any Palestinian involved in killing an Israeli. However, after the cabinet concluded that it would never be able to strike a deal with Hamas if these criteria remained in place, it assigned Ramon's panel the job of drafting new guidelines.

The remainder of the list is comprised of prisoners whom Hamas did not specifically request, but Israel is willing to release.

Hamas recently upped its demands, and is now insisting on the release of 1,500 prisoners, 450 of them in the first stage and the remainder in several subsequent rounds, at Israel's discretion. Israel, however, has repeatedly expressed its unwillingness to release more than 450 prisoners in total.

The message Israel sent to Hamas via Egypt last week stated that "if the freeze persists and the talks [on Shalit] do not progress, Israel will take additional measures in the Gaza Strip."

The message did not elaborate on what those measures might be, but an official source said they could include closing of the border crossings between Gaza and Israel, reinstatement of the economic blockade, and even limited military operations.

Several defense establishment officials, including Shin Bet security service chief Yuval Diskin, support increasing pressure on Hamas to show more flexibility over the exchange, even at the risk of undermining the current cease-fire with the group.

An official in Jerusalem said the message was sent because the freeze in the talks over Shalit, held captive in Gaza for over two years, is showing no signs of a thaw. Despite promises made to Barak by Egyptian officials during his visit to Alexandria several weeks ago, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman has been unable to persuade the Hamas leadership to resume negotiations.

On Sunday, MK Yossi Beilin met with Suleiman in Cairo for a discussion of the security situation in Gaza, as well as the prisoner swap. Suleiman told Beilin he is interested in integrating the Shalit deal into a comprehensive agreement that would also include provisions to reduce tension between Hamas and Fatah in the Strip.

One of the deal's clauses, Suleiman said, would be an extension of the cease-fire and guarantees from Israel that it would not harm Hamas leaders in Gaza.

"I've been explaining to Hamas that life won't be normal in Gaza until Gilad Shalit returns," Suleiman told Beilin. "I hope they have internalized that."

"My goal is to return Gaza to the control of the Palestinian Authority through an internal agreement between the factions, and to convince Hamas that this is the right thing from their perspective," he added. "I'm optimistic about the chances for success."

Ramon's task force was comprised of Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, Environmental Protection Minister Gideon Ezra and Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann. Also participating were senior security officials such as Ofer Dekel, the prime minister's envoy to the Shalit talks; the head of Military Intelligence's department on prisoners and missing soldiers; and officials from the Military Advocate General's office and the Israel Prison Service.

Related articles:
  • Talks with Hamas over Shalit to resume Tuesday
  • Egypt: Gaza crossing will remain shut until Shalit deal reached
  • Sources: Hamas' inflexibility, Egypt tensions stalling Shalit talks
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      1.   Here We Go Again! Freeing Terrorist Kills Innocent People 02:41  |  Baruch Gold 09/09/08
      2.   Will they release Shalit alive? 04:10  |  Murray the Mongoose 09/09/08
      3.   How does Israel know if he is alive? The Red Cross? 05:19  |  PETER SM 09/09/08
      4.   A Better Way To Do This 05:22  |  Ron 09/09/08
      5.   MERT DOUBLE MINDED AND SWAYING LIKE THE DRUNKARD SAID NO RELEASES 07:05  |  glenna 09/09/08
      6.   Time to finish it 07:26  |  Natallie Durson 09/09/08
      7.   On visiting Publix 08:53  |  Clickfool 09/09/08
      8.   450 IS AN INSULT TO HAMAS, FORGET THAT 09:38  |  indrajaya 09/09/08
      9.   For Murray the Mongoose # 2 10:09  |  Clickfool 09/09/08
      10.   Clickfool/Natalie - Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb 10:54  |  Robert 09/09/08
      11.   Kidnapping and murder is like going shopping? 11:42  |  Ilan 09/09/08
      12.   Arab & Israeli prisoners in Israeli jails 11:54  |  Rozz 09/09/08
      13.   Shalit has been in prison for 800 days 12:03  |  Chris Linthwaite 09/09/08
      14.   Now its 1500 Arabs for 1 Then cry "unfair" if Israel takes Shalit 12:04  |  PETER SM 09/09/08
      15.   Nr 3: Red Cross 12:13  |  Serge 09/09/08
      16.   After Shalit is releasedHamas will kidnap again- its good busines 12:49  |  Alan SA 09/09/08
      17.   SERGE exactly the Arabs get away with it.Red Cross does nothing 13:33  |  PETER SM 09/09/08
      18.   #8 Indrajaya 13:34  |  Daniela 09/09/08
      19.   CFOOL Hamas holds Shalit.If they get no brothers back 13:37  |  PETER SM 09/09/08
      20.   Indrajara- 14:40  |  dov katz 09/09/08
      21.   Pious Robert in SA provides a chuckle # 10 14:54  |  Clickfool 09/09/08
      22.   Curious, then, that Israel doesn`t invade Gaza, Robert # 10 15:02  |  Clickfool 09/09/08
      23.   #15, #17 What on Earth do you expect the Red Cross to do? 16:44  |  Johnboy 09/09/08
      24.   But Clickfool (#9) Hamas has never promised to release Shalit 20:02  |  Murray the Mongoose 09/09/08
      25.   How many Israelis will die due the release of the 450? 20:15  |  Murray the Mongoose 09/09/08
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