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Abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
 (Reuters)
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Last update - 14:01 19/12/2009
Hamas: Israel has 2 days to accept Shalit deal
By Avi Issacharoff and Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondents
Tags: Hamas Gilad Shalit 

A Hamas official said Sunday that Israel has 48 hours to accept its demands for a prisoner swap deal that would see the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, Al-Jazeera has reported.

The official's remarks came as the German mediator brokering the negotiations alongside Egypt reportedly arrived in Tel Aviv to present Hamas' final offer in the deal.

Both Egypt and Hamas, meanwhile, have denied a report that French doctors had visited Shalit last week at the secret location in which he is being held in the Strip.
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Shalit's father, Noam, also told Israeli media that he had received no information regarding any such visit.

Hamas strongman Mahmoud Zahar told Haaretz by phone that there was absolutely no truth in the report, which was carried by both the London-based daily Al-Hayyat and the BBC's Arabic service.

According to the report, the doctors reportedly accompanied the German mediator involved in Israel-Hamas negotiations for the release of Shalit, who was kidnapped in a cross-border raid by Gaza militants more than three years ago.


The physicians, who each specialize in different areas of medicine, traveled to the Strip from Cairo, and entered the Hamas-ruled territory via the Gaza-Egypt border crossing at Rafah, Al-Hayyat reported. According to the paper the doctors gave Shalit a full medical checkup.

Israel Air Force drones flew above Gaza while the doctors were visiting Shalit, the paper said. The German mediator had reportedly pledged to Hamas that Israel would not strike the abducted soldier's hiding place or try to rescue him, despite the fact that the Israel Defense Forces was monitoring the doctors' visit.

The paper further reported that Shalit is being held at a location that is booby-trapped and from which he has no chance of being rescued alive. According to Al-Hayyat, the checkup was another confidence-building measure in order to advance the developing deal to secure the soldier's freedom.

Meanwhile, Hamas is continuing to hold out on its final answer to the proposal from Israel on the deal, which was delivered by the German mediator. According to Arab media reports, the impression is that the Islamist militant group is trying to evade offering a response for as long as possible.
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  1.   gilad 10:05  |  isragirl 06/12/09
  2.   The Great Gaza Camp under seige. Yet Shalit allowed 4 10:46  |  RJBH 06/12/09
  3.   Shalit 11:23  |  Gil 06/12/09
  4.   # 2 RJBH 11:45  |  Joseph .E 06/12/09
  5.   shalit a world celibrity, Arab prisoners forgotten 11:46  |  sami abu ismail 06/12/09
  6.   And you`re proud of this 15:22  |  Paul Freedman 06/12/09
  7.   Gaza is not an easy place to live 16:00  |  Natallie Durson 06/12/09
  8.   Humans becoming part of deals: how unhuman! 16:32  |  syrian opinion 06/12/09
  9.   re: shalit a world celibrity, Arab prisoners forgotten 17:07  |  dani 06/12/09
  10.   #5 18:12  |  howard 06/12/09
  11.   Enough of playing the Hamas puppet 18:13  |  MARK KLEIN, M.D. 06/12/09
  12.   #11 19:54  |  David Ward 06/12/09
  13.   48 hours 20:50  |  Jew 06/12/09
  14.   Israel either playing with fire or don`t understand the pals ! 20:52  |  Akram Zekaria 06/12/09
  15.   Bluff! After 48 hours, what then? Murder him? Entebbe-2 rescue? 22:18  |  Born In The USA 06/12/09
  16.   Obvious this is a bad offer 22:27  |  MARK KLEIN, M.D. 06/12/09
  17.   Natallie (apogee) Durson 22:44  |  akivapatysh 06/12/09
  18.   Why a 48 hr deadline 23:25  |  Arnold 06/12/09
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