Three men have been tapped to replace Israel's top negotiator, Amos Gilad, who until now has been responsible for representing the Jewish State in talks with Egypt over arrangements for a ceasefire with Hamas terrorists and the return of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
Gilad was sacked on Sunday by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for publicly criticizing the government last week in an interview published in the Hebrew-language newspaper Ma'ariv.
Although technically no one has been appointed to replace Gilad as top negotiator for Israel with Egypt, sources in the Prime Minister's Office who announced that one would be appointed "very shortly" told reporters they already knew who had been chosen.
According to the sources, the prime minister's long-time diplomatic adviser, Shalom Turgeman, who was involved in last year's indirect talks with Syria, brokered by Turkey, is one member of the team. Turgeman was appointed by Olmert last month as head of a team to consider ceasefire initiatives that were being proposed during the counterterrorist Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.
Sources said Turgeman has been assigned to work on diplomatic and other aspects of the "calm."
The head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), Yuval Diskin, will become the second member of the triumvirate, according to sources in the prime minister's office. Diskin, who began his service with the Shin Bet in 1978, became director of the agency in February 2005. "During the worst years of terrorism, he headed the operational region responsible for destroying Hamas military infrastructures throughout Judea and Samaria," reads a Foreign Ministry profile of his credentials.
Diskin will reportedly be tasked with working on a list of Arab prisoners to be exchanged for Shalit. He will also deal in the arms smuggling aspect of the Gaza calm.
Prime Minister's envoy Ofer Dekel, who handled the German-brokered negotiations with Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon for the return of kidnapped IDF reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, will complete the team.
A former deputy director of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), Dekel has been already been involved in the negotiations for the return of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. Shalit was kidnapped less than a month before Goldwasser and Regev were abducted, and is still being held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
Dekel will continue to be the government's representative in talks aimed at freeing Shalit from captivity.