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Abducted soldier Gilad Shalit. (Archive)
Last update - 11:03 04/02/2008
Sources: Hamas gives Israel letter from Gilad Shalit
By Yoav Stern, Avi Issacharoff and Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondents
Tags: Gilad Shalit 

Hamas has given Israel a letter apparently written by abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, Haaretz has learned.

Some sources told Haaretz that Israel received a letter last month written in Shalit's handwriting. Other sources said that Hamas gave Israel a message of a different kind from the abducted soldier.

The authenticity of the letter has been examined and sent to the Shalit family.
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Sources involved in the negotiations say that the transfer of the letter to the family shows Israel's urgency to advance negotiations over the deal.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert decided Sunday to relax the criteria for releasing Palestinian prisoners as part of a swap for Shalit, but insisted that Hamas would also have to be more flexible for a deal to be finalized.

Olmert told a meeting of senior ministers and defense officials that he was "determined" to conclude the deal, but "I do not intend to agree to whatever price Hamas asks."

The meeting was called to resolve a dispute within the defense establishment over the deal. Ofer Dekel, who Olmert appointed to conduct the negotiations over Shalit, argues that Israel should ease its criteria regarding which Palestinian prisoners to release, since otherwise, it will not be able to free enough high-level prisoners to satisfy Hamas. Diskin, however, objected, arguing that this would not only bolster Hamas, but would free terrorists who have killed Israelis in the past to kill again.

A senior government source said that Olmert had ruled in favor of Dekel. "Until now, we have demonstrated a very consistent stance on this matter, but we understood that we need to be more flexible in order to progress," the source explained. "But Hamas will also have to be more flexible in order to turn the deal into reality, and we hope it will understand that."

Nevertheless, he said, the negotiations will probably take another several months. "Yesterday (Saturday), a small but important step was taken, without which it was not possible to move forward, so everything was stuck," the source said. "But that doesn't mean we're at the end. Far from it. This is a matter of months."

The main problem is that there is still no agreement on which prisoners Israel will release in exchange for Shalit. To date, Israel has agreed to free only a few of the people Hamas is demanding.

Related articles:
  • Hamas: Barghouti among prisoners we want freed for Gilad Shalit
  • Report: Meshal says abducted IDF soldier Shalit 'alive and well'
  • Egypt: Hamas turned down offer to exchange prisoners for Shalit
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      2.   People with no moral authority,Olmer&failed IIDF top deciding 00:30  |  Absolute Sweden 04/02/08
      3.   swap 00:40  |  Shmuelshachor 04/02/08
      4.   TO ALL ISRAELIS AND REST OF WORLD 00:47  |  MOE 04/02/08
      5.   Get rid of this oaf Olmert.... 01:12  |  Rachel 04/02/08
      6.   There is a responsibility to the families of future victims! 01:30  |  Alan 04/02/08
      7.   wicked buffoon Olmert 01:33  |  judith 04/02/08
      8.   Olmert and concessions 01:41  |  Malone 04/02/08
      9.   moe 02:25  |  alan 04/02/08
      10.   u punish 2 million people for 1 occuppier? 02:34  |  disgusting 04/02/08
      11.   I agree with Moe 02:45  |  Rainbow Warrior 04/02/08
      12.   Galid looks like a child soldier. Israel shouldn`t indoctrinate.. 03:09  |  POP 04/02/08
      13.   #12 - Indoctrination, you say?? 03:54  |  Steve 04/02/08
      14.   #12 POP - Child Soldier - U mean those kids 04:46  |  * BEN JABO 04/02/08
      15.   Israel is desperate 04:53  |  Natallie Durson 04/02/08
      16.   Olmert 05:14  |  Rozz 04/02/08
      17.   # 15 Natalie Durson 05:37  |  Rozz 04/02/08
      18.   look at the past releases--oh how effective! 05:47  |  dav zee 04/02/08
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      20.   Olmert-Shalit 06:42  |  Barrieg 04/02/08
      21.   Natallie in a lalaland 06:51  |  judith 04/02/08
      22.   NATALIE DURSON 08:26  |  mike 04/02/08
      23.   The psychopah Diskin, torturer-in-chief, does not agree 09:13  |  Clickfool 04/02/08
      24.   Respect their women? Guess Durson never heard of honor killings 09:18  |  Michael 04/02/08
      25.   It`s not a moral stand. It`s a bargaining ploy. 09:27  |  Natallie Durson 04/02/08
      26.   Natallie Durson- more lies about "Islamic Law" 09:52  |  Joe Sittizen 04/02/08
      27.   Moe in Ramallah 10:00  |  Umm Danny 04/02/08
      28.   For POP # 12 10:15  |  Clickfool 04/02/08
      29.   #15 natalie durson 10:15  |  Adrian de Klerk 04/02/08
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      31.   #23 Clickfool 10:24  |  All Tracks 04/02/08
      32.   #25, "it`s not a moral stand" 10:55  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 04/02/08
      33.   #31, regarding the fool 11:03  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 04/02/08
      34.   FREE OUR THREE 13:21  |  Nicole 04/02/08
      35.   Durson unmasks Islam as cruel and inhumane 13:37  |  Joe Sittizen 04/02/08
      36.   Is Olmert secretly cooperating with Hamas? 15:42  |  Tosefta 04/02/08
      37.   For All Tracks # 31 15:57  |  Clickfool 04/02/08
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      39.   Bring Shalit home, bring home the Palestinian prisoners, the soon 16:41  |  Jacob Blues 04/02/08
      40.   Prisoner-Hostage Deals Are Counterproductive 16:46  |  Don 04/02/08
      41.   #37 Clickfool 16:58  |  All Tracks 04/02/08
      42.   Clickfool # 28 17:41  |  Joe Sittizen 04/02/08
      43.   #5.Rachel.How many would you free if it was your dad? 18:47  |  Amnon. 04/02/08
      44.   The only way to stop PRISONER EXCHANGE is to.............. 18:56  |  Douglas 04/02/08
      45.   Slowman`s wisdom on skipping posts 20:32  |  Yoav Stern 04/02/08
      46.   Bizarre, no update on his condition 20:33  |  Pssd Off American 04/02/08
      47.   Moe 20:37  |  Connie 04/02/08
      48.   Israeli leaders should act as if themselves were kidnapped 22:09  |  Nussan 04/02/08
      49.   Hamas - Desperate to be relevant 22:54  |  Reid 04/02/08
      50.   Gilad Shalit, not much support on this thread 23:04  |  Labhras 04/02/08
      51.   LABRAHAS.THE homicide murder is reminder of what you are about. 00:03  |  PETER SM 05/02/08
      52.   A Thousand Pals. for one Israeli is not enough!Maximalist demands 00:07  |  PETER SM 05/02/08
      53.   Gilad Shalit 00:33  |  Labhras 05/02/08
      54.   nussan,muslim leaders should act as if they were the ones doing 00:54  |  terrornator 05/02/08
      55.   All efforts should be made to free Gilad 01:07  |  Free Gilad Shalit 05/02/08
      56.   Natallie Durson 01:12  |  Nattalie Durson 05/02/08
      57.   Labhras Embarrassing Self 01:18  |  Tom 05/02/08
      58.   #49 Say Reid 01:19  |  ballistic 05/02/08
      59.   LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR, BEWARE SELF-INTERESTED OUTSIDERS 01:21  |  Mohamed Malleck 05/02/08
      60.   Labhras 02:21  |  Connie 05/02/08
      61.   PRISONER EXCHANGE - OLMERT TO REPLACE SHALIT 03:13  |  * BEN JABO 05/02/08
      62.   # 61 BEN JABO AND ALL THOSE WHO REFER TO `JEW HATERS` 03:46  |  Mohamed Malleck 05/02/08
      63.   Free Gilad Now 04:30  |  Jonthan 05/02/08
      64.   #61 Mohamed Malleck 06:19  |  Malone 05/02/08
      65.   Only two civil society leaders can reach peace 19:53  |  ft dekla 05/02/08
      66.   #62 Mohammed Malleck 23:45  |  * BEN JABO 05/02/08
      67.   #64 Malone 23:47  |  * BEN JABO 05/02/08
      68.   #62-2 ( revised) Mohammed Malleck 06:29  |  * BEN JABO 06/02/08
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