Israel to ease conditions on prisoner release criterion

Thursday August 28, 2008 09:10 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

After returning from Egypt following a Wednesday meeting with Egypt’s President, Hosny Mubarak, Israel’s Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, sad that Israel will ease the conditions it imposes on the criterion that determinism which detainees are eligible to be freed in return for releasing the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Gilad Shalit

Egypt’s Intelligence Chief, Omar Suleiman, and Israel’s Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, also attended the meeting.

The Israeli Ministerial Committee is expected to convene on Sunday to change the criteria which determines which detainees will be freed in the anticipated prisoner swap deal. The committee is headed by Haim Ramon and includes Avi Dichter, Ami Ayalon, Gideon Ezra and Daniel Firedman.

The committee will present the Israeli cabinet with additional names of Palestinian detainees; this list includes 70 more detainees which Israel labels as detainees with blood on their hands.

Israeli Ynet News reported that the ministerial cabinet intends to expand the list of detainees who will be freed in spite of sharp objections from the Shabak.

The Ynet added that the Popular Campaign which demands the release of Shalit is practicing pressure on the Israeli government while the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, in addition to Livni and Barak are trying to push the talks on the stalled prisoner swap deal.

The Ynet also said that Barak is carrying a message from Egypt in which it states that the position of Hamas never changed and that it still demands the release of 450 detainees. Yet, several Hamas leaders are still demanding the release of a higher number of detainees similar to the latest prisoner swap deal between Hezbollah and Israel.

Barak said that Egypt informed him that it intends to continue its pressure on Hamas to show some flexibility in its position.

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