Livni: We need progress on Shalit before we address Hamas demands

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Tuesday that progress over the return of kidnapped Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit is a precondition for any Israeli concessions to Hamas.

"It is clear to me that at this point in time Hamas, on the one hand, and the international community, on the other hand, are going to pressure Israel over border-crossings and other matters," Livni told students at the College of Management.

"While there things that Hamas wants to obtain from Israel, there is a human being that we want back - Gilad Shalit," she continued. "The two matters are mutually dependent; it is impossible to separate them and we cannot move forward on any other issue until we make progress on the return of Gilad Shalit."

Israel wants Egypt to press Hamas on a schedule for a prisoner exchange that would secure Shalit's release.

Israeli security sources said Sunday night that if the cease-fire holds, it may be possible to resume talks on Shalit's release. They also suggested that the outcome of the fighting in the Gaza Strip may have contributed to Israel's bargaining power, but said it is unlikely that a breakthrough will be achieved before next month's elections in Israel.

The talks between the two sides did not stall on the number of prisoners Hamas wanted to see released in return for Shalit (about 1,400) but on several hundred "heavies" - terrorists involved in suicide bombing attacks during the 1990s and the second Intifada.

Security sources said it would be difficult to convince Hamas to exhibit flexibility in this matter, but said it may be possible to broaden the deal, involving more areas in which Israel could make concessions.

Moreover, the security sources said it is also possible that in view of the heavy blow delivered to the organization, Hamas may be willing to adopt a more flexible approach on some of the prisoners it wants released, in order to gain a much more urgently needed boost in terms of public support, which a release of prisoners in Israeli jails would ostensibly afford.

In talks with Egyptian officials, Israel asked Cairo to push for a resolution of the issue. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the cabinet on Sunday that Operation Cast Lead is not yet over and should be concluded with an agreement on Shalit. Olmert acknowledged that the issue of Shalit was raised in talks with the Egyptians and explained that "we have taken action in order to formulate understandings on the question of Shalit."

He also said that he has given orders to expedite the matter, but refused to elaborate because, he said, "public discourse on the matter is not helpful."

During his address on Saturday night, in which he announced the cease-fire, Olmert also touched on the matter of Shalit, saying that Israel's actions had brought it closer to securing Shalit's release.