The head of the diplomatic desk of the Hamas terrorist organization, Khaled Meshal, is scheduled to arrive in Cairo in the coming days. Palestinian Authority sources say his meetings will deal with the release of Gilad Shalit, who has been held for over four months. Shalit was abducted by eight Hamas terrorists as he manned his tank at Kerem Shalom, just outside Gaza; two soldiers - Lt. Chanan Barak, 20, from Arad, and St.-Sgt. Pavel Slotsker, 20, of Dimona - were killed in the attack.
Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman reports in the name of the PA sources that a deal to free Shalit is nearly ready, and that Israel recently received an amended offer. It has been reported many times over the past months that Hamas demands the release of between 800 and 1,200 terrorists imprisoned in Israel in exchange for Shalit.
Hamas Authority chief Ismail Haniye's diplomatic advisor Ahmed Yusuf, as well, told the PA news agency Maan yesterday that Egypt has submitted a new proposal to Israel. "Israel has expressed willingness this time to respond to the demands in order to end this story soon," Yusuf said.
Within Israel, it is feared that the release of hundreds of terrorist prisoners will not only increase terrorism dangers, but will also pave the way for the abduction of yet more Israelis.
The Almagor Terror Victims Association recently reported that at least 14 of the major terrorist attacks in recent years were carried out by terrorists released by Israel in the context of various “goodwill gestures” and prisoner deals. Between the years 1993-1999, the report states, Israel released 6,912 terrorists - of whom 854 (14%) were arrested subsequently for murder or attempted murder. No statistics were available for those who returned to non-fatal terrorist activities, instruction or logistical support.
In early 2004, Israel released close to 450 jailed terrorists in exchange for four Israelis kidnapped by Hizbullah - three of whom were returned as corpses. Many quotes collected by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) show that the Palestinian Authority saw the kidnapping as a positive precedent and planned further kidnappings in order to secure the release of more terrorist prisoners.
For instance, the PA daily Al Hayat Al Jadida reported on Jan. 29, 2004, "Fatah’s military branch organized a civilian and military procession yesterday through the streets of Rafah. This event was held in appreciation and gratitude for the efforts Hizbullah made for the release of Arab and Palestinian prisoners from Israel jails as part of the prisoner exchange deal with Israel. In a public statement by the Abu Al-Rish Brigades, Fatah’s military wing emphasized the need to follow Hizbullah’s example in order to achieve the release of all prisoners and detainees."
In August of that year, the paper reported, “The Al Aqsa Martyr Brigades called on its members to kidnap Israelis in order to pressure Israel on the prisoners’ issue….”
Fatah-Hamas Disunity
Meshal's meetings in Egypt will also reportedly deal with the question of the PA government and the formula for a Hamas-Fatah coalition. It now appears that Hamas is willing to agree to a year-long coalition government, to be followed by general elections.
Over 20 Arabs have been killed in civil-war fighting between Fatah and Hamas in Gaza over the past several weeks.
Ahmed Yusuf commented on this topic as well. He said that representatives of both Abu Mazen (Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas) and Haniye will meet in the coming days in Cairo, under the auspices of both Egypt and Syria. Yusuf said that the two leaders were in contact over the past few days, "raising new hopes for a solution to the crisis, mainly because it has lately become more personal than political."
Yusuf said that Egypt has withdrawn its proposal for a government of professionals, as opposed to a political one, in light of the preference by all factions for a political unity government.