Report: Mediator on way to Israel with Hamas response to swap deal

The German mediator in the negotiations for the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit is en-route to Tel Aviv with Hamas' response to the latest Israeli offer, the Al Jazeera television station reported last night.

Reports in the Arab press over the last few days indicate that there are still significant differences between the Israeli and Palestinian positions on a possible swap, making it unlikely that Hamas will accept the Israeli offer.

The mediator is pressing both sides to reach an agreement quickly. Arab media reports have said Hamas and Israel expect the negotiations to be completed by the end of the month, and the prevailing assessment in Israel is that it will take at least another few weeks to finalize the deal.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been consulting with only a few advisers about the deal, making it difficult to get an accurate picture of how it is progressing.

Meanwhile, Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar told Haaretz yesterday that reports in the Arab press that four French doctors visited Shalit were inaccurate. However, an Egyptian source said yesterday that French doctors had traveled from Egypt to Gaza. The source said they went to Gaza to provide surgical care and would not confirm reports that they saw Shalit.

The London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reported yesterday that the doctors visited Shalit last week, with the German mediator, as a confidence-building measure. According to the report, which also appeared on the BBC in Arabic, Israeli drones provided security for the doctors.

The mediator assured Hamas that Israel would not attack the site where Shalit is being held or attempt to free him, the report said. It also said the site is booby-trapped and that Shalit would not be able to survive a rescue attempt.

Al-Hayat and BBC Arabic also also reported that the German mediator threatened to drop out of the negotiations due to Israel's refusal to release 44 prisoners from East Jerusalem, 20 Israeli Arab prisoners and one from the Golan Heights. Israel also wants to deport 125 prisoners after the deal is completed.

The Arab media have reported that the differences between Israel and Hamas have narrowed considerably. Al-Hayat reported the dispute is now over 50 of the 450 Hamas prisoners the group wants released from Israeli prisons, while Palestinian Authority newspaper Al-Ayyam says only 15 names remain in dispute.