BICOM

Hamas’ political chief Khaled Meshaal left Cairo yesterday following a visit that is believed to be connected with indirect talks taking place between Israel and Hamas officials over a prisoner exchange deal involving the release of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Al Jazeera reported yesterday that Meshaal and other high level Hamas leaders, including deputy leader Moussa Abu Marzouk, arrived in Cairo early yesterday morning for meetings. Mashal’s visit is being made against the backdrop of negotiations that were held in Cairo at the start of the week by senior Mossad official David Meidan and Hamas military wing commander Ahmed Jaabari.

Officially, Hamas announced that the delegation had come to discuss with the Egyptians the reconciliation with Fatah and the issue of the Rafah crossing. However, Egyptian sources told Al-Jazeera that Mashal intended to deal mainly with the Shalit deal during his visit.

In related developments, Defence Minister Ehud Barak told 103 FM Radio that there is a “grain of truth” to the reports that prisoner exchange deal negotiations are taking place. Barak added that he preferred not to say anything else in order not to jeopordise the efforts. In the past, Hamas has demanded the release of 1000 prisoners. The list of names included prisoners directly responsible for terrorist attacks against Israel. Most of the dispute now concerns the number of Palestinian prisoners Israel wants to deport after their release (thought to be about half of the 450 prisoners Hamas is demanding) and the release of high-profile prisoners such as Marwan Barghouti, according to Al-Hayat.