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Last update - 14:59 22/06/2008
Israel: There will be no Shalit deal unless Hamas is flexible
By Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Gilad Shalit, prisoner swap 

Israel intends to demand that Hamas alter significantly the list of Palestinian prisoners it wants released for freeing abducted soldier Gilad Shalit. Israel will state its case in a message to be passed on by Egyptian mediators.

Shalit has been held captive in the Gaza Strip since June 2006.

The Israeli demands are expected to be presented to Egypt's chief of intelligence, Omar Suleiman, by Ofer Dekel, the prime minister's negotiator for the release of Israeli soldiers held in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
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Dekel will stress that "flexibility in the Hamas demands is a condition for a [swap] deal from Israel's point of view."

Dekel's visit to Egypt this week will signal the resumption of negotiations for a deal over Shalit, following many months in which the matter had been on hold.

The Israeli negotiator will be briefed by Suleiman on Hamas' most recent positions on the Shalit question, and on the ways Cairo expects to resume contacts between the two sides.

At this point there seems to be no significant change in the positions of Israel and Hamas. The radical Islamic group is demanding the release of at least 450 prisoners, most believed to be responsible for the murder of Israelis.

Israel has agreed to release only 70 of those on the list, and at this stage refuses to release the rest.

According to Al-Sharq al-Awsat, a London-based Arabic-language daily, the negotiations for the release of Shalit are close to conclusion.

But the newspaper claims that a dispute still exists between the two sides over the identity of 30 prisoners that Hamas wants released.

"Israel has had proposals and there have been other proposals, but now it is Hamas' turn to show flexibility if it wants a deal," a senior political source in Jerusalem said on Saturday. "There is no other option."

Several months ago, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert decided that Israel will not agree to the terms posed by Hamas because it required the release of people involved in the murder of Israelis. Among these were Abbas al-Sayed, the mastermind behind the Park Hotel suicide bombing in March 2002.

The senior political source said on Saturday that Olmert's view has remained unchanged and that "unless the Hamas position changes, there will be no deal and it will not be possible to achieve progress."

Meanwhile, the Shalit family will meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday. Sarkozy, who is on an official visit to Israel, hopes to be updated on the case because Shalit is also a French citizen.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak discussed the Shalit case in Paris on Wednesday with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who said that "France hopes the cease-fire in Gaza will bring a breakthrough in the release of Gilad Shalit.

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      1.   And if Hamas refuse? 03:16  |  Chris Linthwaite 22/06/08
      2.   isnt the idf responsible for murdering palestinians 03:17  |  billy jack 22/06/08
      3.   The simple truth, Israel cannot afford to have Shalit released 03:29  |  Tosefta 22/06/08
      4.   hamas will do. hamas is weak.. 04:16  |  bashar 22/06/08
      5.   nutcakes 04:18  |  margaret 22/06/08
      6.   You can`t DEMAND flexibility 04:24  |  lydia 22/06/08
      7.   Two can play the same game 05:10  |  Dr David I. Gross 22/06/08
      8.   Israel should be allowed NO flexibility. Israel has not given any 05:21  |  POP 22/06/08
      9.   Quote: "Why are you placing terrorists into prison? Kill them!!!" 05:30  |  Lubavitcher Rebbe 22/06/08
      10.   Linthwaite #1 05:33  |  Free Gilad Shalit 22/06/08
      11.   my four pennies worth 05:52  |  David 22/06/08
      12.   SAY "PLEASE" ISRAEL, LEARN HOW TO BEG 06:25  |  indrajaya 22/06/08
      13.   Flexibility by Hamas 06:45  |  Hilda 22/06/08
      14.   strange behaviour 07:08  |  rm 22/06/08
      15.   Hamas must release Shalit 07:08  |  Dawood 22/06/08
      16.   Simple solution: Quick death penalty for terrorists 07:18  |  Binyamin Dissen 22/06/08
      17.   Start Executing Palestinian Prisoners.... 07:21  |  Jason 22/06/08
      18.   Israel needs the trade, Hamas does not 07:37  |  Natallie Durson 22/06/08
      19.   Free Gilad???? 08:00  |  wibism 22/06/08
      20.   No deal 08:18  |  Jim 22/06/08
      21.   And Rafa remains closed 08:31  |  Ilan 22/06/08
      22.   shalit deal fails-isreal not flexible 08:34  |  jj 22/06/08
      23.   #4 nutcakes 08:35  |  Jim 22/06/08
      24.   #6 Dr. David I. Gross 08:52  |  Jim 22/06/08
      25.   And I tought only smart people live in Tveria; looks like it too 09:02  |  Mark Anthony 22/06/08
      26.   There is no change in the positions of Israel and Hamas. 09:05  |  Jean Van Daem 22/06/08
      27.   1 Jew = 450 Palestinians That`s Hamas value, not mine 09:10  |  Dan 22/06/08
      28.   # 9 to free gilad shalit re: prisoners rights 09:16  |  eric 22/06/08
      29.   #9 Free Gilad shalit 09:27  |  Jim 22/06/08
      30.   #2, Tosefta and his persistent irrationality 09:41  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 22/06/08
      31.   Forget about Gilad Shalit....... 09:42  |  Pathfinder 22/06/08
      32.   HAMAS IS IN ITS TOP FORM FOR HIGHEST PRICE 09:54  |  indrajaya 22/06/08
      33.   HAMAS in the Driving Seat now,,,,,, 09:54  |  Natasha 22/06/08
      34.   Hamas needs deal, gazans fed up with situation 10:03  |  Arthur 22/06/08
      35.   Another `Lebanon Two` who didn`t foresee it? 10:04  |  Dolly 22/06/08
      36.   #12 rm 10:10  |  Jim 22/06/08
      37.   # 34, ARTHUR 10:33  |  indrajaya 22/06/08
      38.   Israel won`t pay the price 10:39  |  Clickfool 22/06/08
      39.   #38, fool, you are never desparate, but always arrogant 11:19  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 22/06/08
      40.   # 6 to dr? gross re: reduction in twos (2nd try) 11:25  |  eric 22/06/08
      41.   Indrajaya: No Qassams no need for truce... 11:52  |  Arthur 22/06/08
      42.   #26 Jean Van Daem 11:58  |  Jim 22/06/08
      43.   #40 eric spins a yarn and more idiocy 12:02  |  victor hardman 22/06/08
      44.   #10 Free Gilad Shalit 12:02  |  Chris Linthwaite 22/06/08
      45.   LINTHWAITE UNLIKE Brits who say how high when Arabs say jump 12:16  |  PETER SM 22/06/08
      46.   INDRAJAYA getting desperate aren`t you? Guess what will happen to 12:20  |  PETER SM 22/06/08
      47.   billy jack: jews came to europe from roman province:PALESTINE 12:54  |  Arthur 22/06/08
      48.   INDRAJAYA,POP,FOOLetc Read the news RIGHT now!!- 12:55  |  PETER SM 22/06/08
      49.   To Clickfool # 38 MORE than a bit of a problem 12:56  |  Dagma 22/06/08
      50.   # 41, ARTHUR 12:56  |  indrajaya 22/06/08
      51.   The Man who would be KING! 13:02  |  Heidi 22/06/08
      52.   #45 Peter SM 13:05  |  Chris Linthwaite 22/06/08
      53.   Shalit well within their Rights Olmert/Barak and their LIES 13:28  |  tHE tHREADMILL 22/06/08
      54.   Shalit Family well within their rights..... 13:35  |  The Threadmill 22/06/08
      55.   Shuffle those dog-eared cards, Dagma # 49 13:38  |  Clickfool 22/06/08
      56.   Perhaps Israel could exchange OLMERT .... 13:42  |  Heidi 22/06/08
      57.   wibism 13:45  |  x-ray 22/06/08
      58.   So Eric if the prisoners are never seen never heard how do you 13:47  |  x-ray 22/06/08
      59.   # 56, OLMERT 14:00  |  indrajaya 22/06/08
      60.   Tosefta maybe right but it may be about George W Bush 14:41  |  Ronnie Wolman 22/06/08
      61.   # 56, HEIDI (SORRY) 15:01  |  indrajaya 22/06/08
      62.   24 Jim 15:59  |  Dr David I. Gross 22/06/08
      63.   There are 10,000 Palestinian prisoners 16:04  |  Palestinian 22/06/08
      64.   margaret # 5who says,"reverse the scenario and the israelis would 16:52  |  terrornator 22/06/08
      65.   PALESTINIAN there would be none if you had not switched to terror 16:53  |  PETER SM 22/06/08
      66.   so it takes 450 pals to make one jewish human being,lol,sounds 16:54  |  terrornator 22/06/08
      67.   indrajaya,you seem so proud of what hamas has brought to the 17:00  |  terrornator 22/06/08
      68.   palestinian # 63 you whining about the amount of pal prisioners 17:04  |  terrornator 22/06/08
      69.   Linthwaite & others 17:05  |  Free Gilad Shalit 22/06/08
      70.