CAIRO Israel has softened its terms for a prisoner swap with Hamas and the two sides are nearing a deal to exchange hundreds of Palestinian inmates for an Israeli soldier held in the Gaza Strip, officials said on Monday.
A delegation from Hamas crossed into Egypt for a planned meeting with Egyptian security officials in Cairo to discuss the deal that Egypt and Germany have been mediating.
Officials close to the talks said Israel agreed to include in the exchange for soldier Gilad Shalit some 160 prisoners whose release it previously vetoed. But both sides have publicly avoided comment or sought to play down talk of an imminent deal.
“The Shalit episode is about to be closed,” one of the officials said.
Sources on both sides said there were hopes that a deal might be struck by the end of the week, when the festival of Eid Al Adha begins. But one Hamas official sought to play down speculation that a deal was done.
“We stress that it is premature to talk about any results regarding the prisoner swap deal,” Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said.
“The information about an imminent prisoner swap agreement is an Israeli leak that aims to influence the feelings of prisoners and their families and to put pressure and influence on the ongoing indirect negotiations.”
In Occupied Jerusalem, Israeli government officials declined to comment on prospects for a deal with Hamas.
“The efforts to win Gilad Shalit’s release are continuing and taking place outside the media spotlight. We have no intention of commenting beyond this,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak told reporters the subject was too sensitive to discuss but said: “We have to anticipate and be prepared to carry out any possible and appropriate procedure to return Gilad home.”
Sources close to the negotiations have said Hamas, in the first part of a deal, would hand over Shalit to Egypt and Israel would release some 350 to 450 prisoners.
Reuters
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