Thursday, December 24, 2009 GAZA: Hamas announced on Wednesday that the German mediator involved in the talks to release kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit had delivered Israel's offer. Media outlets in the Gaza Strip reported Wednesday that a Hamas delegation would head from Gaza to Cairo today, and then to Damascus, where they would meet with members of Hamas' political wing there to discuss their response to what Israel has put on the table. At the center of Israel's demands is an insistence that between 100 and 130 of the Palestinian prisoners who are to be released in exchange for Shalit - individuals convicted of direct responsibility for the deaths of Israelis - will be expelled to the Gaza Strip or abroad and barred from returning to the West Bank. However, Hamas is insisting that all released prisoners be allowed to return to their homes. Hamas is expected to respond favorably to Israel's offer, but will demand that the number of expelled prisoners be reduced. Negotiations are then expected to continue over the names and numbers of those to be expelled. The London-based Arabic daily newspaper on Wednesday quoted Hamas sources as saying Israel was to blame for the delay in the prisoner swap because it was conditioning the release of the Palestinian prisoners on the expulsion of no less than 100 of them, and was refusing to release certain "major" prisoners. Israel reportedly has not agreed to the release of Marwan Barghouti, Ahmed Sa'adat, Ibrahim Hamed, Abdallah Barghouti, Abbas Sayed, Jamal Abu-Hija and Hassan Salameh. It was not ruled out that rather than sending a delegation to Damascus, Hamas members in Gaza would report their position to Damascus by means of an emissary, and then wait a number of days for a response from their Damascus bureau. Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Wednesday that as chief of staff he was "obliged to bring [Shalit] back home safely."
Thursday, December 24, 2009 GAZA: Hamas announced on Wednesday that the German mediator involved in the talks to release kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit had delivered Israel's offer. Media outlets in the Gaza Strip reported Wednesday that a Hamas delegation would head from Gaza to Cairo today, and then to Damascus, where they would meet with members of Hamas' political wing there to discuss their response to what Israel has put on the table. At the center of Israel's demands is an insistence that between 100 and 130 of the Palestinian prisoners who are to be released in exchange for Shalit - individuals convicted of direct responsibility for the deaths of Israelis - will be expelled to the Gaza Strip or abroad and barred from returning to the West Bank. However, Hamas is insisting that all released prisoners be allowed to return to their homes. Hamas is expected to respond favorably to Israel's offer, but will demand that the number of expelled prisoners be reduced. Negotiations are then expected to continue over the names and numbers of those to be expelled. The London-based Arabic daily newspaper on Wednesday quoted Hamas sources as saying Israel was to blame for the delay in the prisoner swap because it was conditioning the release of the Palestinian prisoners on the expulsion of no less than 100 of them, and was refusing to release certain "major" prisoners. Israel reportedly has not agreed to the release of Marwan Barghouti, Ahmed Sa'adat, Ibrahim Hamed, Abdallah Barghouti, Abbas Sayed, Jamal Abu-Hija and Hassan Salameh. It was not ruled out that rather than sending a delegation to Damascus, Hamas members in Gaza would report their position to Damascus by means of an emissary, and then wait a number of days for a response from their Damascus bureau. Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Wednesday that as chief of staff he was "obliged to bring [Shalit] back home safely."
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