Israel Awaiting Hamas Response on Final Shalit Proposal

As uncertainty continued to loom over the prospective prisoner swap with Hamas for captured Israeli occupation soldier Gilad Shalit, conflicting reports emerged Thursday regarding the status of the deal.

Hamas spokesman Osama Abu Khaled reportedly said Israel still had several reservations regarding the proposed deal, noting that the release of Shalit may still be some way away.

According to Israel Radio, Abu Khaled, speaking in Damascus, said that two unresolved issues at the heart of the negotiations were Hamas's demand for the release of 125 long-term detainees and the question of deportation or relocation of certain prisoners upon their release.

Abu Khaled said it was not at all clear that a deal was close at hand. "Such leaks are coming from Israel," he reportedly said.

In a contradictory report, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida reported Thursday that Shalit had been transferred to Egypt in recent days in preparation for the prisoner exchange. The paper quoted "sources" who said Shalit had been escorted to Egypt by Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar and the commander of the group's military wing, Ahmad Jabari.

The captive soldier was reportedly transported over the border on a bus under heavy Egyptian security. The move was apparently the result of an Egyptian demand, in order to verify the sincerity of Hamas's intentions to move ahead with a deal.

Morever, Israeli media said Thursday, Israel was waiting for Hamas' answer to the German mediator's proposal on the final prisoner exchange deal. The Islamic resistance group is expected to respond within the next few days. The mediator met separately over the past few days with representatives of both sides.

Arab media reports say Hamas is likely to present additional conditions for the agreement, which Israel has already agreed to in principle.

The main remaining dispute, say the reports, is over a few senior detainees who are described as "symbols of the Palestinian struggle." It seems Hamas has concluded it will be difficult to convince Israel to free the senior Hamas leaders.

Therefore, Hamas will likely focus its demands on two detainees not from Hamas: Marwan Barghouti of Fatah, and the secretary general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Ahmad Saadat. One option is that Israel may release them and ban them from the West Bank, reported the Al-Arabiya network.

The final negotiations center on which senior detainees Israel will release.

Even if Hamas agrees to the deal within the next few days, Israel will still have to do several things in order for it to be implemented - the inner cabinet and full cabinet will have to vote on it, the detainees will have to be gathered and prepared, and the list of detainees will have to be published 48 hours in advance in order to allow petitions to the Israeli High Court of Justice.

Hamas is conducting most of its deliberations in Damascus, where the organization's political wing, headed by Khaled Mashaal, is headquartered.

The Gaza leadership expects an agreement to lead to the end of the blockade on Gaza and a gradual opening of the border crossings.

If there are no major developments this week, then the Shalit family will resume its round of meetings with ministers next week to gather support for a deal.

Meanwhile, Israeli President Shimon Peres accused Hamas of holding up the deal Wednesday.

"The delay is not caused by the Israeli government but rather by the other side - there are internal disagreements within Hamas," Army Radio quoted Peres as saying in a speech to students at Kibbutz Yotvata. "If Hamas returns to its original demands, which are already very high, we will see Gilad Shalit return home."

Peres added that if Israel and Hamas agree to the deal, he would have to pardon many Palestinian detainees. Peres said he is "encouraging" the negotiations, and is aiding the government on the issue.