Israel denies compromise with Hamas in Shalit deal

Israeli officials on Friday denied Hamas' claims that the sides had renewed their indirect negotiations over a prisoner swap for the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, according to Army Radio.

A Hamas leader said Thursday that Israel has made a new offer for a prisoner swap in exchange for Shalit.

According to Osama al-Muzaini, negotiations have resumed and Egypt informed Hamas that Israel has retreated from its previous demands that some prisoners' names be removed from the list and that others be freed only into exile.

Muzaini added that the new proposal could be acceptable to Hamas and thus lead to a prisoner swap.

But the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Friday that Israel has not yet reached a compromise with the Islamist group over the release of more than a hundred prisoner involved in some of the deadliest attacks of the Intifada.

Israel says it has agreed to release 325 of the 450 prisoners Hamas has demanded by name, but is unwilling to release the remaining 125.

It has therefore insisted that Hamas present a new list of names from which Jerusalem could choose the remaining 125 to round out the total, to which it has already agreed. However, it appears that Hamas has not transmitted such a list.

The Prime Minister's Office said Friday that Israel is still waiting for an updated list from Hamas to be transferred through Egyptian mediators, Army Radio reported.

Meanwhile, the Al-Hayat daily said Friday that Hamas believed a deal could be reached in the coming days, and were willing to show flexibility over the exile of some released prisoners, so long as Israel promise to free all those it has requested in exchange for Shalit.

The bereaved kin of Israelis who were killed in Palestinian terrorist attacks announced on Friday that they are re-launching their campaign against the release of those convicted of involvement in suicide bombings in any future deal for Shalit.

The families signed a letter to outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu in the wake of a flurry of reports in Arab media outlets indicating that prisoner swap talks between Israel and Hamas have been renewed.