Deadlock over captured Israeli soldier

Talks today between Israeli officials and a top Egyptian mediator failed to bring the release of an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas-linked militants last June any closer, an Israeli official said.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told The Associated Press that he was “very satisfied” with the talks. However, the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the issue of the captured soldier was no closer to solution. The issue is holding up any progress on other matters.

Hamas has been demanding release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in exchange for the soldier. In a speech this week, Olmert said he would release large numbers of prisoners, including some who were sentenced to long terms, but there are disagreements over the numbers and the identities of those to be freed.

Cpl. Gilad Shalit’s capture by Hamas-linked militants touched off a convulsion of violence that engulfed the Gaza Strip for five months before a shaky truce took effect on Sunday. Israel and moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas hope a prisoner swap would build on the truce to help lead the sides back to the negotiating table.

The US hopes to add its weight to these efforts in separate meetings Thursday between US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Abbas in the West Bank and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem.

Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman met in Israel today with Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz and Olmert in the hope of advancing a prisoner exchange.

Israeli officials said the talks with Suleiman were also to focus on arms smuggling from Egypt into Gaza, which is supposed to stop under the truce deal. Israeli military officials are sceptical the smuggling will stop.

Palestinian militants want Israel to free the 1,400 prisoners, including 400 women and minors, in three phases, said Abu Mujahed, a spokesman for the Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Resistance Committees, one of three groups involved in Shalit’s capture. The factions have not yet presented the Egyptians with a list of prisoners they want released, he added.

“Until now, there is no agreement with the Israelis on a prisoner exchange or on the timing,” Abu Mujahed said.

But Kadoura Fares, a former Fatah legislator, said he received personal assurances from Hamas’ political chief, Khaled Mashaal, that Palestinian uprising leader Marwan Barghouti would be part of any swap. Barghouti, a West Bank Fatah leader, is serving five life sentences for his involvement in attacks on Israelis.

In all, Israel holds more than 9,000 Palestinian prisoners in its jails.

Olmert, who earlier this week appealed to the Palestinians to resume peace talks, has said Israel would not hand over any prisoners to Hamas, but wants the deal done with Abbas.

Israel, the US and Western Europe have refused to recognise the Hamas-led government, which took office in March.

They’ve slapped debilitating economic sanctions on it, demanding it recognise Israel, renounce violence and accept existing peace deals. Hamas has rejected the demands, even though the boycott has nearly bankrupted its government and made it largely impossible for it to pay civil servants who provide for one-third of the Palestinians.

In the meantime, Abbas has been trying to form a more moderate coalition government of professionals appointed by Fatah and Hamas, in the hope that will induce the West and Israel to end their sanctions.

Although those talks have deadlocked, and a prisoner exchange hasn’t been worked out, this week’s cease-fire has boosted hopes of renewing long-stalled peace talks between Olmert and Abbas.

The Palestinian president will be discussing peacemaking prospects in his talks Thursday with Rice, who is accompanying US President George Bush on his trip to neighbouring Jordan. Bush is there to discuss ending US involvement in Iraq, but Arab leaders have urged Washington to make progress on what they say is the Middle East’s priority – settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The United States was the main engine behind the “road map” peace plan, which calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. The plan foundered shortly after it was presented in 2003, after both sides failed to live up to their initial obligations.

The prisoner swap and the formation of a Palestinian coalition government were on the agenda Wednesday when Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas met with Egyptian officials in Cairo.

Haniyeh briefed Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit on the latest developments in the Palestinian territories and is scheduled to meet with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa later in the day. He met with Suleiman after arriving in Cairo yesterday.

Haniyeh left Gaza yesterday for a tour of the Arab world and Iran, hoping to obtain political and financial support for his government. His journey is to take him to Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Syria and Iran.