Egypt has resumed its efforts to persuade the Palestinians to release kidnapped IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who is being held in the Gaza Strip, amid unconfirmed reports that Israel has agreed to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Former Palestinian Authority information minister Nabil Shaath claimed that Israel had expressed its readiness to release some 700 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit. He said negotiations to resolve the crisis had reached an "advanced stage" as Egyptian diplomats and security officials based in the Gaza Strip resumed their mediation efforts on Tuesday. According to Shaath, who is one of the top Fatah leaders in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians and Israel have agreed on most of the details of the alleged prisoner swap, but were still negotiating about the identity of the prisoners who would be freed. He said that in any case, most of the female prisoners held in Israel would be released.
The Egyptians had suspended their mediation efforts to protest against Hamas's refusal to accept a proposal by President Hosni Mubarak, according to which the soldier would be released in return for guarantees that Israel would release hundreds of prisoners at a later stage. The proposal is aimed at avoiding a situation where Israel would be seen as having succumbed to the demands of the kidnappers.
The Egyptian mediators met with PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, who expressed his backing for ending the crisis peacefully. Haniyeh told the Egyptian officials that the crisis could be resolved only after Israel ends its military operations against the Palestinians and agrees to a mutual cease-fire that would be followed by negotiations over a possible prisoner swap. Haniyeh told reporters in Gaza City on Wednesday that Israel was waging an "insane and open war on the Palestinians and Lebanese." This war, he added, extends beyond the release of Shalit and the other two soldiers held by Hizbullah.