Israeli focus turns to Shalit negotiation

Following the prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah, attention is now expected to turn to the Egyptian-mediated contacts between Israel and Hamas, which are intended to secure the freedom of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. Ofer Dekel, the Israeli official who headed the team dealing with Hezbollah, will now focus on the freeing of Shalit. Intensified negotiations are expected to now commence, according to Egyptian sources quoted in the Israeli media today. Israeli officials said that they did not expect Hamas to toughen its stance regarding the issue of Shalit, despite the movement's rhetorical claims in this regard. 

Hamas was full of praise for Hezbollah yesterday. Movement spokesmen also praised Samir Kuntar, and Dalal Mughrabi, a Lebanese-Palestinian terrorist who was responsible for the deaths of 36 Israelis in the ‘Coastal Road Massacre' in 1978. The Lebanese-born Mughrabi's body was among the 199 returned to Lebanon yesterday. The Palestinian Authority also sent a message of congratulations to Hezbollah yesterday.

Back to top Previous article Next article