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World Jewish News
Mubarak: Chatter about Shalit raises Hamas' demands
12.05.2009
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak yesterday that he wants to resume talks on a deal to free abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit as soon as possible.
During a meeting in the Sinai resort of Sharm al-Sheikh, Netanyahu told the Egyptian president that he will appoint a new negotiator next week to replace Ofer Dekel, who was in charge of the talks on a prisoner exchange under former Prime minister Ehud Olmert.
"In my opinion, Hamas will not make concessions on the list of prisoners it wants released, so we'll have to find a solution," Industry Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, who accompanied Netanyahu to Sinai, said.
Shalit was abducted by Hamas in a cross-border raid in 2006 and is believed to be held captive in the Gaza Strip.
The prime minister is considering two main candidates to replace Dekel: Attorney Pinhas Marinsky, who is friend of the Netanyahu family, and Col. (res.) Lior Lotan, who formerly headed the IDF's missing soldier unit. The chosen representative will be assisted by a team of ministers and senior defense establishment officials, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Minister of Strategic Affairs Moshe Ya'alon, Ministers Dan Meridor and Yossi Peled and MK Israel Hasson, a former deputy head of the Shin Bet security service.
Once selected, the official will travel to Egypt for talks, accompanied by an Arabic-speaking aide.
Netanyahu brought Ben-Eliezer because the latter had been charged with laying the groundwork for the meeting. While there, Ben-Eliezer met with the head of Egypt's intelligence service, Omar Suleiman, to discuss resuming the indirect talks on Shalit between Israel and Hamas, which Egypt had mediated.
Egypt said it was willing to pick up the talks from the point where they ended during Olmert's tenure and try to find a new solution to bridge the gap between the parties.
Netanyahu was warmly received by Mubarak, who sought to display his willingness to deal with Israel. "Mubarak did his best to make Netanyahu feel welcome," a member of the Israeli delegation said.
But in an interview with Channel 1 television yesterday, Mubarak spoke bluntly about the effort to secure a deal for Shalit.
"You are talking about Shalit all the time, but you ought to remain quiet," he told the Israeli public - and the press. "You demand his release and they [Hamas] raise their demands all the time. Keep quiet."
Regarding the peace process, the Egyptian president said the existence of two separate Palestinian entities, one in the Gaza Strip under Hamas control and another in the West Bank ruled by Fatah, was not viable. He said reconciliation talks between the two Palestinian factions have encountered difficulties because of an unspecified foreign power. Mubarak was probably referring to Iran, which actively supports Hamas and has been pushing it to adopt a hard-line policy toward Israel.
Mubarak also commented on attempts by another Iranian protege, the Lebanese militant organization Hezbollah, to set up a spy network on Egyptian soil.
"Even if they wanted to run arms through our territory, they should have asked," Mubarak said. "They wanted to get us into trouble."
By Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff
Источник: Haaretz
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