(AKI) - Israeli mediators have offered to exchange 450 Palestinian prisoners for the liberation of Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. According to sources quoted in the Arab newspaper, al-Hayat, the Israeli delegation presented a list of prisoners in a proposal put to the head of Egypt's secret services, Omar Suleiman, who is mediating the talks. The names were chosen from a list of 1,000 prisoners delivered in the past few days by Hamas to Egyptian mediators.
Israeli mediators on Thursday returned home and are not expected to return to Cairo before the Palestinian leaders respond to the proposals. The list reportedly includes people who have committed less serious crimes, among them many women and children.
Although there have been repeated violations of the week-long truce between Israel and Palestinian militants, the Jewish state appears to be committed to further talks regarding the prisoner exchange for Shalit. |