Peres, Mubarak Meet on Shalit

President Shimon Peres was greeted at the airport by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Thursday ahead of their meeting in the Red Sea resort of Sharm e-Sheikh.

The two leaders were set to discuss the Arab League's peace proposal as well as the negotiations for the release of kidnapped IDF St. Sgt. Gilad Shalit, who has been held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza since June 25, 2006.

According to a report broadcast Thursday morning on Voice of Israel government radio, a Hamas demand to free 1,500 Palestinian Authority Arab terrorists, many with "blood on their hands" in exchange for Shalit, has been rejected by the Israeli government. The report quoted Egyptian sources who said Jerusalem also objected both to the identity of the prisoners on the list submitted by Hamas and to the number of terrorists it wanted Israel to free.

The sources added that it is unlikely any deal to release Shalit will be reached before a new government is formed, a process that could take weeks, if not months.

As negotiations for freedom for the kidnapped soldier dragon, Shalit's family and the parents of kidnapped and murdered IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev have increased their criticism of the Olmert administration.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed after the abduction of Shalit that he would not return to negotiations with the Palestinian Authority until he was released.