The Forum of Seven convened Sunday for an extraordinary session and there are speculations that the ministers discussed a possible deal for the release of captive soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who is held by Hamas.
Another possibility being raised is that the Forum of Seven – which serves as an inner cabinet that the Prime Minister trusts to keep its deliberations secret – met to discuss the construction freeze in Judea and Samaria, following recent violent confrontations and the Hesder yeshiva crisis.
Omar Suleiman, Head of Intelligence in Egypt, arrived in Israel Sunday morning and he, too, is apparently discussing the Shalit deal. He will meet unnamed senior Israeli officials in the evening.
'Do not cave in'
Terror victims' group Almagor called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Saturday evening to show leadership and not to cave in to pressure in the negotiations. “The Prime Minister,” the group stated, “must do the only right thing that can be done at this time: not to release terrorist murderers who have been sentenced, for the security of the Israeli general population and the State of Israel.”
According to recent leaks in the never-ending psychological war that surrounds the Shalit negotiations, Hamas expects Israel to agree to include high-profile terrorists and large-scale murderers among the prisoners to be released.
One leak said the disagreement concerns a list of 50 prisoners. A senior member of Hamas told Saudi newspaper Al-Ukaz that there are only 10 names on the disputed list, and that these include Fatah leader Marwan Bargouti; the PFLP's Ahmed Saadat; mass-murderers like Hassan Yusef of Hamas in Ramallah, and Fatah's Abdallah Bargouti, Abbas as-Sayed and Ibrahim Hamed.
Among the female terrorists on the reported list are Ahlam Tamimi, who led the suicide bomber to the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem, and Amna Muna, who tempted an Israeli youth through the Internet and led him to his murderers.
Fox news quoted an unnamed Israeli source as saying that the German mediator in the talks was partial toward Hamas because of German business interests in Iran.