Hamas Deputy Chief: Significant progress achieved in Shalit deal

Arab media quoted Hamas Deputy Chief Moussa Abou Marzouk as saying on Thursday that significant progress had been achieved regarding the deal to free Gilad Shalit.

Despite media reports of progress, Hamas' decision to put its official response to the Shalit deal on hold has temporarily suspended negotiations and dashed Israeli hopes for an agreement by the end of this week.

Hamas is expected to resume talks after the Muslim holiday of Id al-Adha, which ends on Monday.

Israeli officials also admit that differences remain that could stall a deal.

However, Arab media outlets Thursday reported significant progress in the talks to free the soldier. Senior Hamas officials, namely the heads of Hamas' Damascus-based political bureau, did not say the talks have failed but that a number of clauses in the German mediator's proposal are problematic.

Senior Hamas officials said the talks between Hamas and Israel hit a snag over some of the Palestinian prisoners the Islamic group wants freed in return for captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, including Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Sa'adat.

Israel also objects to freeing Israeli Arab prisoners as well as several Hamas military wing leaders. Another issue yet to be settled is Israel's demand to deport almost 100 of the 450 "heavy" prisoners set to be released in the deal.

The Arab media does not describe these issues as categorical demands, but as points to be sorted out with the help of the German mediator.

Hamas is demanding, among other the prisoners, the release of Ibrahim Hamad, head of the group's military wing in the Ramallah area, Abdallah Barghouti, a bomb engineer, and Abbas a-Sayad, the Hamas head in Tul Karm who planned the 2002 massacre during Passover in Netanya's Park Hotel. These three prisoners are considered responsible for the murder of hundreds of Israelis.

Other names mentioned in the Arab media are Hassan Salame, who was involved in planning the suicide bus bombings in the mid '90s, and Jamal Abu al-Hijla, head of Hamas in Jenin, who was convicted of taking part in planning and funding several suicide attacks during the second intifada.

Another key figure is senior Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti. Vice Premier Silvan Shalom said earlier this week that Barghouti and Sa'adat, secretary of the Popular Front, would not be freed as part of the Shalit exchange. In the last two days, Hamas officials have said explicitly that Israel is refusing to release Barghouti.

The Obama administration has in recent weeks pressed Netanyahu to extend good-faith gestures to Abbas, intended to compensate for the predicted blow to Fatah's popularity in the wake of the prisoner exchange deal.

Netanyahu's declaration on Wednesday of a 10-month hiatus in settlement construction is not simply a tardy response to Washington's requests. The U.S. administration will try to present it as an achievement for Abbas as well, despite the Palestinian Authority's disappointment with East Jerusalem's exclusion from the building freeze.

Additional ideas were also raised in talks with the Americans - from handing over security responsibility to the PA in more West Bank areas, to a massive release of Fatah prisoners as a gesture to Abbas. Another possible scenario involves delaying by a few months the release of Marwan Barghouti, the emerging successor to Abbas, in order to separate it from the Shalit deal and thus also from a sense of obligation to Hamas.

The deal with Hamas is also expected to include a full cease-fire in the Gaza Strip (Hamas already declared such a truce last Saturday) in exchange for Israel alleviating the economic siege and partially opening the border passes for merchandise.

Military sources said Thursday that if the Shalit deal goes through, it could spur smaller Palestinian organizations to attempt to take more Israeli soldiers prisoner.

Israeli intelligence sources said there have been attempts to dig tunnels from the Gaza Strip into Israel and launch terror attacks on Israelis, including attempts to abduct soldiers. "These are plans for terror attacks that are ready to go ahead. Their implementation is only a matter of time," a senior officer said.

	Gilad Shalit in Hamas captivity.
	Photo by: (Reuters)