Fast Forward
Israel Reportedly Gives Ground on Shalit Release Talks
srael has agreed to relax its demands in talks with Hamas geared at securing the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper said on Friday.
A basic bone of contention between Israel and Hamas in the ongoing Egypt-mediated negotiations has been Israel’s’ refusal to release a reported 120 Palestinian prisoners directly involved in attacks on Israelis.
Israel has also been reportedly adamant about its demand to expel at a certain number of Palestinian inmates from the West Bank, a stance which Hamas has long rejected.
However, according to Al-Hayat’s Friday report, Israel had agreed to a drastic cut the number of Palestinian prisoners whose release was refused from 120 prisoners to 40.
