Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Wednesday that prisoner-exchange talks regarding captured Israel Defense Forces soldiers must be kept out of the public eye.

"You don't negotiate in the media," said Peretz during a visit to the Mateh Asher Regional Council in the western Galilee. "We cannot discuss names [of potential prisoners Israel would release], or discuss the various options, but rather we must make an effort, and that is what we are doing."

The defense minister made the comments in response to a question on recent statements made by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as well as media reports on the condition of the captured soldiers.

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Olmert said Tuesday that Israel is working under the assumption that IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, who are being held by Hezbollah, are alive. On Monday, Olmert drew fire for saying he prefers the soldiers remain in captivity for a longer period than to risk the lives of additional troops in an attempt to free them by force.

Peretz added Wednesday that the IDF is obligated to pass any information on the soldiers condition and health to their families, as it does. "All the rest must remain classified," he said. "We must operate under the highest degree of classification in order to conduct negotiations in the smartest manner and achieve the proper results."

Peretz said the securing the release of the soldiers is a "supreme value, both from the point of view of the defense establishment and the State of Israel."

Hamas: Israel yet to respond to 'ideas' on release of Gilad Shalit
Hamas is waiting for an Israeli response to its offer on a deal for the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, the Hamas spokesman in Lebanon, Osama Hamden, told a Palestinian news agency.

Hamdan, who is on a visit to Damascus, said Hamas political bureau head Khaled Meshal has provided Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman with several suggestions regarding Shalit's release.

"Suleiman passed the ideas on to the Israeli side last week, but as of now we are continuing to wait for a response from the Israeli side to these ideas," Hamdan told the Ramatan news agency.

Another Hamas leader, Mohammed Nazzal, announced on Tuesday that a Hamas meeting would take place that night in Damascus to discuss the Shalit issue.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, who was in Damascus on Tuesday, was expected to participate in the meeting.

"This is a very important meeting, in the course of which we will formulate our position on the matter," Nazzal said. He added that there was no connection between the talks on Shalit and the negotiations regarding a Palestinian unity government.

Haniyeh held a meeting on Tuesday with representatives of all the Palestinian factions living in Damascus, including those outside the Palestine Liberation Organization framework.

Meshal, who took part in the meeting, said that within two weeks a preparatory committee would convene to begin reviving PLO institutions, in accordance with a decision by Palestinian factions at the beginning of the year.

In an interview with the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir, Meshal blamed Fatah for the latest crisis in the unity government talks. He reiterated that if a Palestinian state is not established within six months, Hamas would return to the path of resistance.