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Last update - 11:02 22/04/2009
Netanyahu to hold special meeting on Shalit
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Tags: ofer dekel 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with senior intelligence and defense officials Wednesday to discuss efforts to secure the release of captured Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit.

Netanyahu will seek to clarify the nature of intelligence efforts up till now to find out Shalit's condition. He will ask the defense establishment to invest in wide-ranging efforts to find out where Shalit is being held.

The prime minister will also speak with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman on the matter Wednesday.
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The Prime Minister's Office announced late Tuesday that Israel's special negotiator for prisoner affairs Ofer Dekel has officially stepped down from his position.

Until now, Dekel has served as Israel's representative to the Egyptian-mediated negotiations with Hamas to secure the release of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

According to the PMO, Netanyahu agreed with "deep regret" to Dekel's request to be removed from his position after two and a half years.

Earlier this week, Haaretz learned that Netanyahu had decided to re-examine the handling of the Shalit case and was soon to remove Dekel of his own accord. Netanyahu had been expected to meet Dekel on Thursday to tell him that he was planning to appoint a new negotiating team.

In its statement on Tuesday, however, the PMO said that Dekel had actually requested two week ago to be replaced.

"Ofer Dekel devoted days and nights of his time to a mission of unparalleled importance, on a strictly voluntary basis and without any remuneration," Netanyahu said in a statement following his meeting with Dekel.

A source in Netanyahu's bureau said on Sunday that "everything related to the Shalit affair is under reconsideration and everything is open."

A week ago Netanyahu met with Dekel, who was former prime minister Ehud Olmert's special envoy concerning Shalit. The two discussed the contacts over Shalit's release since the soldier was abducted to Gaza in June 2006.

The Shalit family met Netanyahu last week and asked him to replace Dekel, Channel 2 reported Sunday. Family members said they had lost faith in Dekel and Netanyahu has agreed to the request, Channel 2 reported. Shalit's father, however, has denied he has lost faith in Dekel.

During his service, Dekel successfully concluded the negotiations with Hezbollah and brought back to Israel the bodies of captured IDF soldiers Udi Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.

In any case, the prime minister was expected to consider new possibilities concerning the case, even if he has yet to come up with a specific plan or candidate to replace Dekel, said a source in his bureau

"We are still studying the matter and I have yet to formulate the appropriate direction for continuing negotiations," Netanyahu reportedly said.

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  • PMO negotiator travels abroad to pursue Shalit deal
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