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Last update - 00:17 12/12/2008
Hamas official: Shalit could be freed in a day if Israel were brave enough
By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents and Haaretz Service
Tags: gilad shalit, israel news 

A leading Hamas official said Thursday that a deal to release abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit could be reached in a single day if Jerusalem would agree to free Palestinian prisoners jailed for life in Israel.

In an interview with Israel Radio, Mahmoud Zahar said Israel needed only to "gather the courage" for such an agreement to be implemented.

The Hamas leader also shot down Israel's request to allow Red Cross officials to visit Shalit, saying it would present a security risk. He did say, however, that Hamas was committed to taking care of its hostages.
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About two weeks ago, it was reported that the Shalit family was working with private investigators in an attempt to acquire information about the fate of their son, who was abducted by Palestinian militants two and a half years ago on the Gaza Strip border.

Israel will soon be freeing all the "bargaining chips" it arrested in 2006 in order to trade them for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit: Dozens of Hamas parliamentarians, along with several Hamas ministers, will have to be released within the next year, even if no deal for Shalit is struck, because they will have finished serving their two- to three-year sentences.

Those who have already been released include some of the most senior Hamas officials: then-deputy prime minister Nasser al-Din Shaer, then-minister for Jerusalem affairs Khaled Abu Arafa, then-finance minister Omar Abdel Razek, and Adnan Asfour, Hamas' spokesman in the West Bank.

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      1.   there could be peace in a year if Hamas was brave enough 09:23  |  newageblues 11/12/08
      2.   Get your soldier home 09:59  |  ted heath 11/12/08
      3.   Sadly, they are right (never thought I`d say that) 10:04  |  Harvey 11/12/08
      4.   al-Zahar: "gather the courage" 10:11  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 11/12/08
      5.   al-Zahar, you have gained nothing 10:20  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 11/12/08
      6.   shalit 10:37  |  avrahamrosenblum 11/12/08
      7.   Please please get our soldier home 10:37  |  John 11/12/08
      8.   Harvey did you read the whole article? 10:42  |  x-ray 11/12/08
      9.   Brave enough? Maybe cowardly enough 10:52  |  JS 11/12/08
      10.   Freeing Hamas prisoners to get Shalit back 10:53  |  Mark Montgomery 11/12/08
      11.   Poor Kid 11:09  |  Yosemite 11/12/08
      12.   Being Brave 12:41  |  sharon 11/12/08
      13.   Ther could be peace in six months 13:24  |  sabra 11/12/08
      14.   Free all prisoners, get Shalit in a minute. 15:26  |  Nora 11/12/08
      15.   Brave enough to have kids blown up on buses??? 15:28  |  judith 11/12/08
      16.   desperate people do desperate things.. 16:13  |  bashar 11/12/08
      17.   in a single day show Israel Shalit`s life and then maybe you will 17:16  |  glenna 11/12/08
      18.   hamas offered truce and kept it...barak broke it 17:28  |  get truce 11/12/08
      19.   Red Cross too much of a security risk? 17:37  |  Aphemia 11/12/08
      20.   Courage 18:06  |  Joe 11/12/08
      21.   Mahmoud Zahar Will Sing A Different Song When Likud Wins 18:21  |  Judea 11/12/08
      22.   A Likud win won`t mean jack s**t! 18:46  |  Peaceseeker 11/12/08
      23.   i don`t get Israel sometimes 19:12  |  Aaron 11/12/08
      24.   Doubtful Israel will release Palestinian prisoners. 19:33  |  Ibrahim 11/12/08
      25.   More lies from the bed of lies 19:37  |  Adrian de Klerk 11/12/08
      26.   The safe return of `Private Shallit` 20:07  |  Samir S. Halabi 11/12/08
      27.   Pyschcological Warfare BUT... 20:22  |  Seamus 11/12/08
      28.   To be free or not to be free 20:42  |  rm 11/12/08
      29.   Israel Needs Shalit To Be Held Captive 20:50  |  chet 11/12/08
      30.   Freeing `Shalit` 21:06  |  Samir El-Koubi 11/12/08
      31.   barak is at fault. 21:42  |  rochel 11/12/08
      32.   Gilad Shalit 21:44  |  Angel 11/12/08
      33.   To: Ted Heath 21:50  |  Angel 11/12/08
      34.   #32, Angel, you make it all sound so simple! 23:40  |  Silvienne 11/12/08
      35.   #29, chet...agreeing with you... 23:43  |  Silvienne 11/12/08
      36.   Angel 01:22  |  ted heath 12/12/08
      37.   Silvienne 02:43  |  Malone 12/12/08
      38.   #29 chet 02:47  |  Malone 12/12/08
      39.   To Samir El-Koubi (30) 03:53  |  Magnus K. 12/12/08
      40.   DO IT ON JANUARY 20th. Here is why. 04:13  |  Fortuna Benmayor 12/12/08
      41.   To: Silvienne 04:28  |  Angel 12/12/08
      42.   To: Mr. Heath 04:35  |  Angel 12/12/08
      43.   Angel on Israel`s "considerable military ability"... 04:53  |  BBSNews 12/12/08
      44.   #37, Malone... 06:06  |  Silvienne 12/12/08
      45.   Hamas should present, that Gilad is alive 06:45  |  s 12/12/08
      46.   #37, Malone.....2ND TRY 22:00  |  Silvienne 12/12/08
      47.   #40 Silvienne 01:46  |  Malone 13/12/08
      48.   To: BS "News" 03:34  |  Angel 13/12/08
      49.   To: Silvienne 03:38  |  Angel 13/12/08
      50.   Hamas are thugs. 10:37  |  DRS 13/12/08
      51.   #22: Sadly, I agree 19:13  |  Yaakov K. 13/12/08
      52.   Agreement in 24 hours 09:18  |  shmendrik nashashibi 14/12/08
      53.   Israel`s endless opera of conflict would end via Saudi Plan 09:01  |  Ivar 15/12/08
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