A senior official involved with the negotiations for the release of Gilad Shalit stated Tuesday that notwithstanding the concluding developments, the negotiations have not ended, and Shalit’s fate has not been sealed.
Family members of Gilad Shalit met with envoy Ofer Dekel, who returned Monday night from negotiations in Cairo. The Shalit family was briefed by him about the Cairo negotiations.
Prime Minister Olmert will meet at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday with Cabinet members for a special meeting. At the meeting, Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin and envoy Ofer Dekel will present the deliberations to the Cabinet, presenting Hamas’s offer to Israel, which has been called “extremely generous” and “unprecedented.” Senior political officials think that it is possible that the meeting will end with a Cabinet vote on a special proposal to be tabled by the Prime Minister.