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Last update - 19:06 22/01/2009
Olmert: Gaza op spurred efforts to expedite Shalit release
By Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents, and Haaretz Service
Tags: Gaza, Hamas, Gilad Shalit 

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday that Israel's recent offensive in the Gaza Strip has generated renewed momentum in efforts to strike a deal for the release of abducted soldier Gilad Shalit.

"The operation created a number of levers that can aid in the expedition of [Shalit's] return," Olmert said. "This is what I said and I will not add to this, because this will not benefit his return. After Gilad returns home, it will be possible to tell the whole story, and then we will know who supported which position, who put pressure, and who asked what."
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Israel has been negotiating with Hamas for Shalit's release since his abduction by Gaza militants in a June 2006 cross-border raid.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak later Thursday echoed Olmert's comments on the offensive boosting the chances of bringing Shalit back to Israel. But he warned that the final decision to do so would be a difficult one to make.

"Regarding Gilad Shalit, there is nothing closer to our hearts," Barak said. "We have not stopped working for him for a single day, and not a day has gone by without the subject being on my desk. We mustn't speak too much, we must act."

In his comments earlier Thursday, Olmert said he hoped the quiet in southern Israel would continue over a prolonged period of time, but warned that the reactions of Israel's neighbors were not always possible to predict.

"We must take into account the possibility that things can unfold differently," Olmert said.

"The forcefulness of the State of Israel's comprehensive response actually lay in the fact that we did not rush to launch [the operation]. The last thing we are ready to bear is the fear of a small child in the southern communities - and the state of Israel exists so that this does not happen."

When asked about quotes which appeared in Thursday editions of the circulation tabloid Ma'ariv, in which Olmert Barak, the prime minister said his statements were in reference to the Labor chief's previous term as prime minister.

"Barak knows that I think he was a failing prime minister," Olmert said. "During the fighting in Gaza, Barak carried out his task in an impressive manner, and all in all we worked together in recent weeks, despite the disagreements here and there. And still, from here to the desire to become prime minister, the road is a long one."

Hamas official: No link between Shalit release and lifting of siege

A senior Hamas official said Thursday that the Islamist group is rejecting any linkage between the release of Shalit and the opening of Gaza border crossings, according to a report in the London-based pan-Arab daily newspaper Al-Hayat.

The paper quoted a senior Hamas official who said that Israel "offered to lift the siege in exchange for the release of Shalit but we refused. There is no connection between the issues."

The official said the Hamas military wing has information on Shalit's wellbeing, but the affair will only reach its conclusion by way of a prisoner exchange.

The report said Hamas postponed a trip that was to be made by a delegation of officials to Cairo on Thursday. The Hamas members were slated to discuss the outcome of talks between Egyptian intelligence officials and the head of the security-diplomatic branch of the Defense Ministry, Amos Gilad.

According to Al-Hayat, the delegation's talks were to be centered on two key matters: drawing up the terms of an Egyptian-mediate cease-fire and the opening of the border crossings. A senior Hamas official said the organization is insisting on Turkish participation in the Egyptian-led talks on the cease-fire.

Gilad, the head of the Defense Ministry's political-security branch, is expected to raise the issue when he arrives on Thursday in Cairo for talks with the Egyptians on the security situation following the Gaza invasion.

Gilad is expected to say that Israel would not open the crossings except for humanitarian needs until negotiations for Shalit's release are resumed. While refraining from directly negotiating with Hamas, Israel has in past talks used Egypt as a broker.

Israel and Egypt are also expected to form a joint committee to deal with arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip.

According to a government official, the Israeli delegation to the committee will comprise representatives from the defense establishment and the intelligence community who will try to coordinate a work program to prevent smuggling, while exchanging information about the phenomenon.

"Egypt has come to realize that it has no choice but to address the smuggling," the official said. The committee will probably include an American representative and possibly another delegate from the European Union.

According to the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat, Egypt is at present negotiating with Israel over the possibility of doubling the number of troops deployed along the border with Gaza, bringing it up to 1,500 troops.

Israeli officials: Jerusalem softening stance on Shalit deal

As Israel and Egypt coordinate efforts to clamp down on Hamas' smuggling operation in Gaza, senior officials in Jerusalem say that Israel has softened its positions ahead of a possible prisoner exchange deal with Hamas for the retrieval of Gilad Shalit.

Haaretz has learned from several cabinet ministers that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other ministers who had refused Hamas' demands for Shalit's release have recently "realized that there is no choice but to pay the price," as one minister put it.

By contrast, over the past few months Olmert has said that Israel should not meet Hamas' demands for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel - many of whom were involved in terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of Israelis - in exchange for Shalit.

Hamas has also demanded the opening of the crossings to the Gaza Strip in exchange for the kidnapped soldier. On Wednesday Olmert met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to discuss the efforts to release Shalit, whom Hamas abducted in June 2006 from a military post overlooking the Gaza Strip.

One minister, who is also a member of the security cabinet, said Wednesday that the defense establishment is of the opinion that Operation Cast Lead has improved the chances of a deal for Shalit's release. "There is a solid majority in the cabinet supporting the release of many murderers for Shalit's release," he said.

The minister went on to explain that "Shalit is the subject of a consensus both in the government and the general public, and we will be able to pay the most awful price for his release."

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      1.   Israel still seeking bargain to the last minute 13:00  |  Natallie Durson 22/01/09
      2.   Negotiations 13:09  |  Ben 22/01/09
      3.   Shalit 13:30  |  Elianah 22/01/09
      4.   This article is stupid 13:31  |  Chaim Gorenstein 22/01/09
      5.   The silence 14:05  |  Mark Lincoln 22/01/09
      6.   Gilad Shalit 14:09  |  David 22/01/09
      7.   After all we undertood that Israel won the war !!!!! 14:36  |  Bulent 22/01/09
      8.   # 4 Mark Lincoln, I agree, but 14:55  |  John 22/01/09
      9.   hope Gilad is well and will be free soon 15:01  |  hope 22/01/09
      10.   chutzpah 15:15  |  mariapalestina 22/01/09
      11.   This conversation could be very different 15:25  |  idf_sergeant 22/01/09
      12.   "one man short" (Durson) 15:29  |  idf_sergeant 22/01/09
      13.   Gazan doctor says death toll inflated 15:29  |  Jerry 22/01/09
      14.   #12 Jerry of Canada 16:01  |  Chris Linthwaite 22/01/09
      15.   Chaim, you`re right 16:47  |  Observer 22/01/09
      16.   Deja Vu 16:48  |  Lebanese 22/01/09
      17.   Maria P 17:16  |  Ben 22/01/09
      18.   Not stupid 18:13  |  mariapalestina 22/01/09
      19.   Re. Gilad Shalit 19:05  |  GA 22/01/09
      20.   death toll inflated? 19:52  |  Mario 22/01/09
      21.   Folks, face a simple fact 01:59  |  Mark Lincoln 23/01/09
      22.   Being an Australian, I love a good laugh. 04:24  |  Maureen Ann 23/01/09
      23.   Shalit , Who?...Israel executed this guy... 05:27  |  ali 23/01/09
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