Hamas Tuesday night made a new demand that it help patrol the border at Egypt before the terrorist organization will agree to free kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit according to WorldNetDaily.
Ahmed Yousef, Hamas's chief political advisor in Gaza, told WND reporter Aaron Klein, "There is an understanding of all powers involved that Hamas must play a role [and] that without Hamas there can be no cross-border agreement. So, yes, indirectly the U.S. and Israel admit that Hamas is a player and must be taken into consideration in any political arrangement."
Several hours earlier, Khaled Mashaal the Syrian-based overall head of Hamas, contradicted reported comments from Gaza officials that an agreement on freeing the soldier could be reached before another ceasefire pact is announced. Mashaal also rejected outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's position that the two issues are intertwined.
Prime Minister Olmert convinced the Cabinet last June to accept a six-month ceasefire with Hamas by stating that the agreement would bring about Shalit's return to his home and family. Hamas broke the ceasefire from the first day, and no progress was made towards freeing the soldier, kidnapped nearly 1,000 days ago.
However, the outgoing prime minister said on Tuesday that he intends to ask the Security Cabinet on Wednesday to approve conditions for another ceasefire after completing a deal for Shalit's release.