Negotiations on the release of Gilad Shalit the Israeli soldier held by Hamas since his abduction on June 25 last year, have hit a bump and are now back at the starting point, Palestinian sources said yesterday.

These statements contradict the declarations of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who said last week that he and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had agreed on the outline of the deal for Shalit's release.

All that remained, sources quoted him as saying, was to 'conclude the final details.'

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But Palestinian sources told Haaretz yesterday that a group of high-ranking officials in Hamas' military wing, Iz al-Din al-Qassam, which is headed by Ahmed Jabri, have thwarted the deal.

They claim Shalit's captors have expressed fear Israel reprisal if Shalit is released. They therefore decided against transferring the list of prisoners whom they wish to exchange for Shalit, the sources said.

Israel was to release their list of prisoners in several stages, and the abducted soldier was to be transferred to Egypt after the release of the first group.

The entire process was to be negotiated in Egypt with two delegations, Palestinian and Israeli.

However, the captors decided to disregard their agreement with the Hamas leadership in Damascus, and not to transfer the prisoner list to the Egyptians - deadlocking the talks.

Internal Hamas disputes

Jabri's men in Iz al-Din al-Qassam reportedly have had harsh disputes over the issue with Khaled Meshal, chief of Hamas' Political Bureau. It was said that Jabri tried to secure himself a senior position in the Palestinian security forces after Shalit's release, as well as strong assurances that Israel would not attempt to assassinate him.

'Jabri is part of a group of hard-liners who oppose the Mecca agreement, which formed the basis for the Palestinian national unity government.

'They are vying for power in the Gaza Strip, initiating conflicts with Fatah operatives,'[ the sources said.

Fighting between Hamas and Fatah continued yesterday in the Northern Gaza Strip, with Hamas gunmen ambushing and wounding a detachment of seven Fatah men. Local residents reportedly protected the Fatah men.

The 7-year-old son of a Hamas operative was killed yesterday in the Gaza Strip when a hand grenade went off inside the family home.