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Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal at a conference of eight Damascus-based opposition Palestinian groups in Syria last month.
(AP)
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Last update - 07:43 25/11/2009
Israel awaiting Hamas chief response on Shalit deal
By Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff and Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondents
Tags: Israel news 

Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal is expected to give his answer Wednesday on the compromise formula which is meant to cement the prisoner exchange deal for the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit.

Shalit was abducted by Gaza militants in a cross border raid in 2006. Hamas has demanded the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in exchange for the soldier's freedom.

On the Palestinian side, Meshal is the key - that is known. Now he is in his favorite position. The Gazans are flocking to him like pilgrims, and his office will be the one to issue the Hamas response. Meshal has previously held a hard line on the Shalit issue. It is still unclear what the positions of both Syria and Iran are on the matter.
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A lot depends on Meshal's position. He has yet to take a public stance on the matter, but if there are no unforeseen obstacles there is a feeling that the deal will be ready for implementation in a few days.

Members of the Hamas delegation from the Gaza Strip traveled to Damascus Tuesday night, after concluding talks with the German mediator in Cairo. The mediator, whose identity remains classified, is the one dictating the timetable for both sides. But the bottom line is that unless there is genuine will on the part of the Hamas leaders, there will be no deal.

If there is a positive response from Damascus, the process may go into an accelerated pace. In principle it can be approved by the cabinet and then allow for 48 hours for petitions to be filed with the Supreme Court, after which time it could be implemented.

A senior political source said Tuesday that, in spite of the progress, the Shalit deal is not yet close to being finalized. "There is a chance that things will move fast, but there is also concern that everything will explode and the matter will be delayed for a long time... A lot depends on the talks that Hamas will hold in the coming days."

The security cabinet will meet Wednesday to discuss developments on the
Palestinian front. During his visit to Police national headquarters in
Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on progress made in the efforts to secure Shalit's release Shalit, saying that when the matter reaches the point when decisions need to be made, it will be brought before the cabinet.

"We will not avoid public debate," Netanyahu said in response to the criticism that has been raised regarding censorship and media blackout of the deal.

Netanyahu added that there were no finalized agreements between Hamas and Israel. "There is no deal yet. I don't know whether there will be, but if there will, it will be decided by the cabinet. In any case, there is nothing to decide on something that has yet to be finalized  nothing has been finalized," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu appears to still be working to ensure that most of the cabinet will back him. The fact that the issue will be brought to a vote when a deal is ready will reveal that the prime minister supports the deal and believes he has a majority. He would never allow himself to risk failure on such an important matter.

Even though Netanyahu reiterated the need to keep quiet, the Israeli leadership continues to issue statements on the matter. In addition to his own statement on the absence of a finalized agreement, Defense Minister Ehud Barak told new conscripts at the Israel Defense Forces induction center that with regard to Shalit, "It is a matter that affects every one of you - we all have supreme responsibility to bring him home using all appropriate and possible means."

Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said the following: "IDF commanders, those who sent Gilad to his mission, are committed to do everything possible to bring him home."

And of course there is Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, minister of industry, trade and labor, who Tuesday morning, during his visit in Turkey, said unequivocally: "We are closer than ever to a deal."

With regard to the views of the heads of the security forces, one is known. Ashkenazi has reiterated that he favors a deal.

Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who was on a visit to Israel, refused Tuesday to comment on the Shalit deal during a joint press conference in Jerusalem with his host, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

"We hope that there will be a happy end and that we will achieve a humane
result, but we must not risk it with public talk on the matter," Westerwelle said. He noted that Germany was busy mediating between Israel and Hamas.Lieberman also commented on the matter, saying that he cannot take a position without all the details on the deal. "I will comment on the matter when I know all the details. This is not an easy decision and Yisrael Beitenu ministers will each vote independently," Lieberman said, referring to his party.

Meanwhile, Arab newspapers claim that the disagreements over the fate of Arab Israeli and East Jerusalem prisoners have been resolved, and the issue remaining is what will happen to the senior Hamas prisoners from the territories.

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