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Israel rejects Shalit swap terms | |
(about 8 hours later) | |
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said that Hamas's terms for swapping captured soldier Gilad Shalit for Palestinian prisoners are unacceptable. | |
He spoke after senior Israeli envoys returned from indirect talks with Hamas in Cairo without a deal. | |
One of his ministers accused Hamas of raising its demands to a level no Israeli government could accept. | |
Hamas played down suggestions a deal had been close and said it had not changed its conditions. | |
Israel accused the Palestinian militant group of hardening its position on the proposed prisoner exchange. | |
The talks were part of a final push by the outgoing Israeli prime minister to secure a deal before he left office. | |
The young soldier's father, Noam Shalit, acknowledged he would not see his son again soon. | |
"This government, it seems, will not be able to bring Gilad back," he said. | |
'We have red lines' | |
Gilad Shalit, then a corporal, was captured by Palestinian militants from Gaza, including some from Hamas's armed wing, in a cross-border raid in June 2006. | |
Israel holds thousands of Palestinians prisoner accused of militant activity | |
Two other troops and two militants were killed in the raid. Gilad Shalit has since been promoted to the rank of sergeant. | Two other troops and two militants were killed in the raid. Gilad Shalit has since been promoted to the rank of sergeant. |
Egypt has been brokering the indirect talks. | |
Hamas has been demanding the release of more than 400 of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. | |
In a television address, Mr Olmert accused Hamas of making additional demands. | |
"We will not agree to the release of additional prisoners from Hamas's list above and beyond the hundreds that we have already agreed upon and informed Hamas about," he said. | |
"We have red lines, and we will not cross them. We are not a defeated nation." | |
Daniel Friedman, the Israeli justice minister, said Hamas had wrecked a possible deal by making unrealistic demands. | |
"The prime minister was prepared to make far-reaching concessions, far beyond what some other ministers were willing to do," he said. | |
"That being said, Hamas's demands reached such proportions that we believe no Israeli government could accept them." | |
Deportation issue | |
A senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, said Israel negotiators had brought no new proposals to the talks. | A senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, said Israel negotiators had brought no new proposals to the talks. |
He suggested the Israelis appeared to believe Hamas would accept any offer ahead of the formation of a more hardline government in Israel by right-wing prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu. | He suggested the Israelis appeared to believe Hamas would accept any offer ahead of the formation of a more hardline government in Israel by right-wing prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu. |
Among the prisoners Hamas wants to be freed are senior militants who have been involved in deadly attacks on Israeli civilians. | Among the prisoners Hamas wants to be freed are senior militants who have been involved in deadly attacks on Israeli civilians. |
Reports from the talks say one of the issues dividing the sides was Israel's wish to deport some of these prisoners, fearing they would be a security risk if released in the Palestinian territories. | Reports from the talks say one of the issues dividing the sides was Israel's wish to deport some of these prisoners, fearing they would be a security risk if released in the Palestinian territories. |
Hamas representatives have said the group rejects the deportation proposal on principle. | Hamas representatives have said the group rejects the deportation proposal on principle. |
Mr Olmert had made the release of Sgt Shalit a major issue of his premiership. | |
Sgt Shalit's family and supporters have said they fear a harder-line cabinet led by Mr Netanyahu may be less likely to do a deal. | |
The Shalits set up a tent in front of Mr Olmert's house last week, escalating their campaign after the prime minister said demonstrations calling for Sgt Shalit's release were unhelpful. | The Shalits set up a tent in front of Mr Olmert's house last week, escalating their campaign after the prime minister said demonstrations calling for Sgt Shalit's release were unhelpful. |
Nothing has been heard from the Israeli conscript since June 2008, two years after his capture, when a letter in his handwriting was delivered to the Carter Centre in Ramallah in the West Bank. | Nothing has been heard from the Israeli conscript since June 2008, two years after his capture, when a letter in his handwriting was delivered to the Carter Centre in Ramallah in the West Bank. |