Israel's political leadership decided yesterday to prepare the text for a cabinet decision on a deal with Hamas for captured soldier Gilad Shalit and a renewed cease-fire. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak opted to prepare such a document for possible presentation to the cabinet on Wednesday. Meanwhile, a source at the Prime Minister's Bureau said that "efforts to gain the release of Shalit have been significantly accelerated and they will be intensified even more."
But the prime minister's declaration Saturday that there will be no cease-fire agreement or the reopening of the border crossings into Gaza without the release of Shalit stands in stark contrast to Hamas' position. The Islamist group is demanding that the two issues be kept separate and wants the crossings to be reopened before any prisoner exchange.
| So that they can extort more from the evil Juice ... |
Another key issue is the identity of the Palestinians that each side is willing to see freed. Hamas has demanded a large proportion of the prisoners on its list of 350 to 450 names. Significant progress has been made, and Israel now opposes only several dozen names.
A spokesman for Hamas' military wing, Abu Obeida, said yesterday that the group insists on the release of three senior figures: Ibrahim Hamed, the leader of the military wing in the West Bank; Abdullah Barghouti, responsible among others for the bombings at the Sbarro pizzeria and Cafe Moment in Jerusalem; and Abbas al-Sayed, mastermind of the Park Hotel massacre in Netanya.
On the other hand, there seems to be support in Israel for the release of Marwan Barghouti, the jailed leader of Fatah's more militant Tanzim faction.
| Barghouti might be more useful in the West Bank than in prison. No secret that Abbas doesn't exactly inspire confidence from the Paleos. Barghouti might be a better counterweight to Hamas, even if he is an evil douche-bag. |