"Israel" Finishes Detainee List for Possible Shalit Swap
Source: Al-Manar TV, 9-9-2008
A special "Israeli" ministerial task force has completed drafting a list of 450 Palestinian detainees whom "Israel" would be willing to release in exchange for captured "Israeli" soldier Gilad Shalit.
At the same time, "Israel" is threatening to take "various active measures" should Hamas continue to delay talks over the captive soldier. "Israeli" officials sent this message to Hamas via an Egyptian mediator last week.
The ministerial panel, headed by Vice Premier Haim Ramon, finished drafting its list on Sunday and submitted it to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Sometime in the next few days, Olmert will discuss it with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and War Minister Ehud Barak, and if this troika approves the list, it will be sent to Egypt for transfer to Hamas as a formal "Israeli" offer.
This is the first time "Israel" has submitted a list of its own, rather than merely approving or rejecting names submitted by Hamas.
Of the 450 detainees specifically requested by Hamas, "Israel" had previously agreed to release only about 70, and all of them appear on the list drafted by the ministerial panel. The list also includes additional names on Hamas' list that "Israel" had originally vetoed, but whom it is now prepared to release in line with the new, more flexible criteria for freeing detainees with "blood on their hands" that Ramon's team approved.
Previously approved criteria had barred the release of any Palestinian involved in killing an "Israeli". However, after the cabinet concluded that it would never be able to strike a deal with Hamas if these criteria remained in place, it assigned Ramon's panel the job of drafting new guidelines.
The remainder of the list is comprised of prisoners whom Hamas did not specifically request, but "Israel" is willing to release.
Hamas recently upped its demands, and is now insisting on the release of 1,500 detainees, 450 of them in the first stage and the remainder in several subsequent rounds, at "Israel's" discretion. "Israel", however, has repeatedly expressed its unwillingness to release more than 450 detainees in total.
The message "Israel" sent to Hamas via Egypt last week stated that "if the freeze persists and the talks [on Shalit] do not progress, "Israel" will take additional measures in the Gaza Strip."
The message did not elaborate on what those measures might be, but an official source said they could include closing of the border crossings between Gaza and "Israel", reinstatement of the economic blockade, and even limited military operations.
Several war establishment officials, including Shin Bet security service chief Yuval Diskin, support increasing pressure on Hamas to show more flexibility over the exchange, even at the risk of undermining the current cease-fire with the group.
An official in Jerusalem said the message was sent because the freeze in the talks over Shalit, held captive in Gaza for over two years, is showing no signs of a thaw. Despite promises made to Barak by Egyptian officials during his visit to Alexandria several weeks ago, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman has been unable to persuade the Hamas leadership to resume negotiations.
On Sunday, MK Yossi Beilin met with Suleiman in Cairo for a discussion of the security situation in Gaza, as well as the prisoner swap. Suleiman told Beilin he is interested in integrating the Shalit deal into a comprehensive agreement that would also include provisions to reduce tension between Hamas and Fatah in the Strip.
One of the deal's clauses, Suleiman said, would be an extension of the cease-fire and guarantees from "Israel" that it would not harm Hamas leaders in Gaza.
"I've been explaining to Hamas that life won't be normal in Gaza until Gilad Shalit returns," Suleiman told Beilin. "I hope they have internalized that."
A special "Israeli" ministerial task force has completed drafting a list of 450 Palestinian detainees whom "Israel" would be willing to release in exchange for captured "Israeli" soldier Gilad Shalit.
At the same time, "Israel" is threatening to take "various active measures" should Hamas continue to delay talks over the captive soldier. "Israeli" officials sent this message to Hamas via an Egyptian mediator last week.
The ministerial panel, headed by Vice Premier Haim Ramon, finished drafting its list on Sunday and submitted it to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Sometime in the next few days, Olmert will discuss it with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and War Minister Ehud Barak, and if this troika approves the list, it will be sent to Egypt for transfer to Hamas as a formal "Israeli" offer.
This is the first time "Israel" has submitted a list of its own, rather than merely approving or rejecting names submitted by Hamas.
Of the 450 detainees specifically requested by Hamas, "Israel" had previously agreed to release only about 70, and all of them appear on the list drafted by the ministerial panel. The list also includes additional names on Hamas' list that "Israel" had originally vetoed, but whom it is now prepared to release in line with the new, more flexible criteria for freeing detainees with "blood on their hands" that Ramon's team approved.
Previously approved criteria had barred the release of any Palestinian involved in killing an "Israeli". However, after the cabinet concluded that it would never be able to strike a deal with Hamas if these criteria remained in place, it assigned Ramon's panel the job of drafting new guidelines.
The remainder of the list is comprised of prisoners whom Hamas did not specifically request, but "Israel" is willing to release.
Hamas recently upped its demands, and is now insisting on the release of 1,500 detainees, 450 of them in the first stage and the remainder in several subsequent rounds, at "Israel's" discretion. "Israel", however, has repeatedly expressed its unwillingness to release more than 450 detainees in total.
The message "Israel" sent to Hamas via Egypt last week stated that "if the freeze persists and the talks [on Shalit] do not progress, "Israel" will take additional measures in the Gaza Strip."
The message did not elaborate on what those measures might be, but an official source said they could include closing of the border crossings between Gaza and "Israel", reinstatement of the economic blockade, and even limited military operations.
Several war establishment officials, including Shin Bet security service chief Yuval Diskin, support increasing pressure on Hamas to show more flexibility over the exchange, even at the risk of undermining the current cease-fire with the group.
An official in Jerusalem said the message was sent because the freeze in the talks over Shalit, held captive in Gaza for over two years, is showing no signs of a thaw. Despite promises made to Barak by Egyptian officials during his visit to Alexandria several weeks ago, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman has been unable to persuade the Hamas leadership to resume negotiations.
On Sunday, MK Yossi Beilin met with Suleiman in Cairo for a discussion of the security situation in Gaza, as well as the prisoner swap. Suleiman told Beilin he is interested in integrating the Shalit deal into a comprehensive agreement that would also include provisions to reduce tension between Hamas and Fatah in the Strip.
One of the deal's clauses, Suleiman said, would be an extension of the cease-fire and guarantees from "Israel" that it would not harm Hamas leaders in Gaza.
"I've been explaining to Hamas that life won't be normal in Gaza until Gilad Shalit returns," Suleiman told Beilin. "I hope they have internalized that."
