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Comments (0)“Real progress” has been made in negotiations to release a captured Israeli soldier, President Shimon Peres confirmed.
Peres discussed the issue of Gilad Shalit at a meeting Sunday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo.
“There is no doubt that real progress has been made on the issue of Gilad Shalit, but the details must be kept behind the scene,” Peres said Sunday after returning to Jerusalem following the meeting.
The president’s confirmation came on the heels of a Fox News report Sunday that Israel has approved a final list of 70 prisoners to be exchanged as part of the 450 prisoners named by Hamas in exchange for Shalit. The list replaces 70 other prisoners that were rejected by the Jewish state.
Hamas has said it plans to hold the prisoner exchange on Friday, the day of a Muslim feast.
Meanwhile, Peres told Mubarak during their meeting Sunday that Israel will stop building settlements once the Palestinians start negotiating.
The presidents discussed efforts to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Mubarak called on Israel to stop building on land in the West Bank and in eastern Jerusalem, and to take “brave steps” to advance the Middle East peace process.
Peres said the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised to halt construction in the settlements once the Palestinians sat with Israel for talks.
“The minute we shall start to negotiate, there won’t be new settlements, there won’t be confiscation of land,” he said.
Peres called the settlements issue “marginal,” saying “it is some building of houses that became a central issue for the wrong reasons.”
“My answer is even this issue can be settled by negotiations and agreement,” he said.
Gaza Groups Agree to Stop Rocket fire
Under a Hamas-brokered deal, armed groups in Gaza have agreed to stop firing rockets at Israel.
The deal completed Sunday under the auspices of Hamas’ armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, said however that the groups would respond to Israeli attacks.
“Al-Qassam Brigades will not stand idly by in case of a Zionist escalation and will defend ourselves with all our force,” read the statement, according to the French news agency AFP.
The deal was completed shortly before Israel responded to a Kassam attack from Gaza by striking two Gaza weapons production factories and a smuggling tunnel.
The attacks overnight Saturday were in response to the firing from Gaza of a Kassam rocket at the southern Israeli city of Sderot on Saturday morning, according to the Israel Defense Forces. No injuries or damage were reported in the Kassam attack.
Six people were injured in the attack on the Gaza targets, Palestinian sources told Israeli media.
About 15 rockets and mortar shells have been fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip in the past month.
“The IDF will not tolerate any attacks by terror organizations against Israel and its citizens,” the IDF said in a news release.
Israel Arrests Five PA Officers
Israel arrested five Palestinian Authority intelligence officers in the West Bank.
The arrests in Salfit, according to Ynet, are believed to be related to an investigation by the Palestinian General Intelligence Service into a man suspected of collaborating with Israel. All five of the detained are officers in the service.
According to the Palestinians, talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel already are under way to secure their release.