BICOM

The indirect talks between Hamas and Israel taking place in Cairo over a prisoner exchange deal involving the release of captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit have been postponed. The London based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat reported today that a third round of indirect talks were scheduled for this week but the Egyptian mediators requested to postpone it to a later date. The paper reports that Egypt plans to formulate a compromise for both sides in order to reach a final deal.

Yesterday, Al-Hayat quoted Palestinians sources as saying that Hamas does not intend to give up on its demand to release Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Moreover, a senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan said Tuesday that Israel has shown significant flexibility in its stance regarding a prisoner exchange deal on captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. “Israel’s extreme position regarding the deal has become significantly more flexible in light of Hamas’ resoluteness regarding its position and demands,” Hamdan told the newspaper “Palestine”, which is identified with the Hamas organisation.