Labor Knesset Member Ephraim Sneh, who until last week was Deputy Defense Minister, secretly met with arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti in his Negev prison cell, according to the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat. The MK has not commented on the report.

Barghouti's wife Fatwa told the newspaper that MK Sneh initiated the meeting and that freeing Barghouti, considered to be the most popular figure in the Palestinian Authority (PA), will be part of a deal to secure the freedom of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert previously has stated that freeing the terrorist, who is serving five life terms, would be a mistake because it would encourage more kidnappings.