Negotiator heading to Cairo for more talks on Shalit

Ofer Dekel, the government's chief coordinator for prisoner deals, departs for Cairo tomorrow to renew indirect talks with Hamas over a swap for abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit.

Israel believes Egyptian pressure may cause Hamas to drop its demands that Israel release terrorists convicted of carrying out major attacks against Israelis in return for freeing Shalit. These demands have so far thwarted the deal.

Egypt had pledged to take an active part in talks with Hamas, if Israel agreed to a truce that did not include a prisoner swap for Shalit.

Shalit was abducted by militants two years ago in a cross-border raid.

In Cairo, Dekel is set to meet with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman. Meanwhile, a Hamas delegation will arrive in the Egyptian capital to hold talks with Israel via Egyptian diplomatic channels.

Both Israel and Hamas have agreed that some 450 Palestinian prisoners will be included in the swap for Shalit. Israel will first release the prisoners, after which Shalit will return to Israel via Egypt.

Israel has rejected Hamas demands that it release 70 prisoners who are Israeli Arabs or residents of East Jerusalem. In addition, Israel is reluctant to release terrorists involved in bombings that killed dozens and wounded hundreds of civilians in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Netanya.

Hamas also insisted on the release of Lebanese citizen Samir Kuntar, who killed four people in a Nahariya terror attack, but Israel said Kuntar is part of a separate deal with Hezbollah, which abducted IDF troops Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. So far, only 71 prisoners on Hamas' list have been approved by Israel.

Meanwhile, Hamas denied claims that Egypt had agreed to open the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Sinai only if a deal is reached for Shalit's release.

"Shalit will not see the light of day if our prisoners don't," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.

As talks are set to begin in Cairo, hundreds of protesters and Shalit's family members gathered outside the Jerusalem residence of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, calling on him to expedite talks ensuring the release of the abducted soldier.

"You had two years to exhaust negotiation options," Noam Shalit, Gilad Shalit's father, told protesters. "But in your typically clumsy fashion, you failed to tie the [cease-fire] agreement with Hamas to the release of Gilad."

Noam Shalit also rebuked former IDF chief Moshe Ya'alon, who earlier this week said prisoner swaps must not be signed at all costs.