Hamas' Zahar tells Haaretz: Shalit swap deal still a long way off

Mahmoud a-Zahar, a senior Hamas official in Gaza and one of the figures leading the group's negotiations in the Gilad Shalit affair, said yesterday that the talks are likely to continue for a while, "perhaps a long time."

In an interview with Haaretz, Zahar sought to clarify a number of statements attributed to him in various media outlets. He stressed that progress in the talks now hinges primarily on the Israeli side. "If Israel wants to wrap up this affair, it could be concluded quickly," he said. "If not, then it is likely to continue for a lengthy amount of time."

According to Zahar, Hamas has relayed messages to Israel through the German mediator. Among them, Hamas says no conditions have been set in stone. Israel has outright rejected a number of Hamas demands in exchange for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.

Nonetheless, Zahar added, "We are sticking to our demand for the release of all the names that appear on the list."

Zahar sounded cautious when asked to comment on the possibility of concluding the negotiations. He said the issue of expelling the released prisoners, a demand that Israel raised during negotiations toward the latter stages of Ehud Olmert's term as prime minister, has not been raised in the current round of talks.

"The Israelis have not brought up this issue at all," Zahar said, adding that more work needs to be done before conditions ripen for an agreement.

Zahar also added that disagreements with Israel remain on a number of issues in the talks, not one specific aspect. The London-based pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat reported on Sunday that a dispute over the release of Israeli Arab and East Jerusalem prisoners is delaying the conclusion of a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas aimed at securing Shalit's release. Zahar said Israel has taken a provocative stance on these issues.

The 20th and last female Palestinian prisoner to be released as part of the deal with Hamas, in exchange for footage of Shalit, returned yesterday to her home in the Gaza Strip. Rawda Habib was imprisoned in Israel on charges of aiding a relative, Fatima A-Zik,in her bid to leave Gaza and carry out a suicide bombing. Habib was added to the list of 20 prisoners slated to be released last week. Upon her return home, she was greeted by the head of the Hamas government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh.

Palestinian sources told Haaretz that Hamas officials sense Israel is more willing now than in the past to compromise and agree on the release of the 450 prisoners whose names appear on the group's list. Hamas believes the airing of Shalit's video on television will impact public opinion and increase the pressure on the Israeli government to quickly reach an agreement.

If Israel wanted, it could storm

In a separate story, Asharq Al-Awsat quoted a senior Israeli defense official as saying that Israel knows exactly where Shalit is being held captive, and that the location is under constant Israeli surveillance.

According to the report, the official said that if Israel so desired, it could take the risk and storm the site, but the fear that Shalit might get hurt is preventing Israel from launching such an operation.

Hamas is aware of this, the paper reported, and has consequently surrounded the location with explosives. Hamas has also issued a directive to kill Shalit if an Israeli attack is sensed, the paper said.