Hamas Sees Progress in Talks for Release of Gilad Shalit
Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk believes that internal pressure in Israel and changes in the composition of the Israeli negotiating team will lead to positive movement toward reaching a prisoner exchange deal that will include the release of captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
In an interview with the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper, Abu Marzouk, the deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau, said that Islamic movement is interested in completing a prisoner exchange agreement but emphasized that Hamas’ position on the terms of a deal have not changed.
According to the Al-Hayat report, the head of Hamas’ military wing Ahmed al-Jabari left Cairo on Monday and returned to the Gaza Strip after a visit during which he met with Abu Marzouk and Egyptian intelligence officials responsible for mediating the Shalit deal.
For more, go to Haaretz.com
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
