Abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit will be transferred to Egypt in the coming hours or coming days, according to European diplomatic. The sources say Shalit will be used as a "deposit" toward the completion of a prisoner exchange which is the first stage of an agreement between the various Palestinian Authority factions.
The agreement will also include the opening of crossings between Israel and Gaza, and put the area currently under Hamas control under the leadership of a joint committee subordinate to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. According to Egyptian officials who mediated the deal, the agreement will be signed between Fatah, Hamas and other Palestinian factions by July 7 at the latest.
The information has yet to be confirmed by Israeli officials. On Tuesday, the Bethlehem-based Maan news agency quoted Egyptian sources as saying that Shalit was about to be transferred from the Gaza Strip into Egypt within hours, a report that Israeli sources denied.