Free Gilad Shalit: Report: Israel offered deal for Schalit

Poll: Five Years On. What should the Israeli Government do?

What action should the Israeli Government take now that Hamas has clear control of Gaza and it has been 1 year since Gilad Shalit was been kidnapped

Negotiate with Hamas
Negotiate with Hamas, release as many prisoners as it takes
Hold the Hamas Leadership directly accountable
Hold the Leadership accountable and give them one final deadline before military action
Hold Leadership accountable, give deadline for military action and total cessation of all Israeli supplied electricty and Water.

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Monday, June 18, 2007

Report: Israel offered deal for Schalit

Israel has offered to remove the economic embargo on Hamas if kidnapped IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Schalit is freed and Kassam rocket attacks stop, the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat reported on Sunday morning.

The message was reportedly conveyed to the Islamic group via Arab mediators.

A Hamas source in the Gaza Strip was pessimistic about the seriousness of the proposal, telling Al-Hayat that it was an Israeli attempt to "put out the feelers" on the now Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

He said that Israel had proposed a removal of the embargo, which has been in place since the Palestinian Legislative Council elections in January 2006, allowing the delivery of merchandise to Gaza.

However, according to the report, Israel remained steadfast in its refusal to transfer frozen tax revenues or other funds in exchange for Schalit.

On Thursday, diplomatic sources said that in light of the current infighting in Gaza between Fatah and Hamas, the frequency of negotiations over Schalit's release had gone down.

According to the sources, contacts between Hamas and Egypt - who has been serving as mediator between Hamas and Israel - would only resume once the situation in Gaza stabilized.

Meanwhile, the Hamas source added that kidnapped BBC reporter Alan Johnston would be freed by this weekend. He said that the kidnappers, who belong to the Durmush clan, recently contacted Hamas, who threatened that if Johnston were not released within 48 hours Hamas would use force.

Another Hamas official said that Johnston, who has been held since March, would be freed soon.

"All I can say is that Alan will be free very soon," Islam Shahwan, spokesman for Hamas in Gaza, said Sunday.

However, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, downplayed hopes for his quick release, saying, "there is nothing new yet regarding Alan."

Bagelblogger: I find the timing of this announcement just doesn't sit well with the events on the ground. Are we witnessing the Arab media trying to write the narrative fo the weeks ahead?

Reference:
JPost: Report: Israel offered deal for Schalit