Netanyahu: We'll have public and Knesset debates on Shalit swap

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Monday to hold discussions in the Knesset and with the public on the terms of a deal for the release of Gilad Shalit, amid reports that Hamas was to free the abducted Israeli soldier within days.

"There will be a public discussion and there will be a discussion in the Knesset on the matter, which requires the government's approval," Netanyahu told Likud lawmakers on Monday. "There is still no discussion in the [Likud] faction or in the government because there is still no deal and, as such, there is still no decision."

The premier added that he could not know when the deal would be closed since the matter was not only up to Israel.

"On the other side there is also indecision and different stances; it is still unclear what will happen, what will be proposed and on what we will agree," he said.

Netanyahu told the MKs that the difficulties in making the decision lay in the government's different goals in the negotiations.

"On one hand, the desire to take care of our soldiers and bring them back, sometimes at the cost of endangering lives - a very big principle for our people and in the Jewish tradition," he said. "And on the other hand: refraining from encouraging future abductions."

The prime minister also sought to lower hopes that the deal was imminent, warning that a number of media reports on the matter were intentionally misleading.

"During the recent period, many pieces of information originating abroad and in the foreign media have been published; they are unauthorized, and some of them are intentionally false," the prime mininster's bureau said in a statement.

The prime minister's comments came as Hamas delegates were in Cairo to debate the final prisoner list presented by Israel for an exchange that would see Shalit freed after more than three years in captivity.

The statement by Netanyahu's bureau continued: "The efforts over Shalit's release are continuing all the time, away from media's gaze, and [Netanyahu] has no intention of referring to the subject further."

Defense Minister Ehud Barak, meanwhile, spoke on Monday of the necessity to do everything possible to bring about the release of the soldier, who was kidnapped by Gaza militants in a 2006 cross-border raid.

"We are indebted to Gilad Shalit, who was abducted while on duty protecting the country in Gaza," said Barak in a statement. "The times are too sensitive for discussions. We need to be on our guard and prepared to make any necessary move to bring Gilad back home.

"For most of us, who once wore uniforms and are now part of the defense establishment, this as a profound commitment, on a military and moral level, which goes beyond the common humane commitment shared by every citizen."

Shalit's father after meeting negotiator: I am not reassured

Shalits' family met on Monday with cabinet ministers to discuss their position regarding the possible deal for the soldier's release which could be brought before the Knesset for approval within the next few days.

A Knesset Source told Haaretz that the ministers disclosed their opinion to the Shalit family, but asked the family to keep the information confidential.

The source said that "the Shalit family left some meetings in a good mood, and others feeling less positive."

Earlier Monday, Shalit's parents and brother met with the prime minister's special negotiator, after Hamas declaration that a prisoner swap deal for the soldier's release could be sealed by next week.

"We can't say anything at this stage, and there is nothing to add," the soldier's father, Noam Shalit, told reporters following the meeting. "We would be happy to include you in our joy, if that happens. I am still not reassured."

A source involved in the meetings told Haaretz that the meetings with Hadas and the ministers were scheduled some time ago and had nothing to do with reported new developments.

As they entered the meeting with Hadas on Monday, the family refused to answer questions from reporters, saying: "Now is not the time to talk."

Hamas leaders have previously been very circumspect about reports of breakthroughs, but reports circulating of late have predicted an imminent deal.

Meanwhile, the leader of the group of Israeli activists working for Shalit's release, Shimshon Liebman, told Haaretz that their silence over the past few days had not been coordinated with the prime minister's bureau, censorship officials or because of any new information.

"At a time like this, when there are so many groundless rumors, we prefer to give space to those doing the work and not interfere," Liebman said.

	Shalit family in Tel Aviv on Monday. Nir Kafri