Posted by: zanshin, 2009-06-28 11:00

Story

Sarkozy: No Shalit deal unless Israel frees jailed Palestinians

Barak Ravid, 2009-06-29 (Monday), Haaretz
During their meeting in Paris last week, French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he should seek the assistance of Syria and Qatar to speed up the talks for releasing abducted soldier Gilad Shalit.

Sarkozy said France could ask the leaders of the two Arab countries to seek Hamas' consent for either a sign of life from Shalit or permission for a visit by the Red Cross.

Sarkozy also told Netanyahu that during the Olmert administration he had contributed to exchanges on the Shalit affair through his ties with Syrian President Bashar Assad and the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa. Both leaders have regular contact with Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshal, who is based in Damascus.

Sarkozy also told Netanyahu that the release of Shalit, who has been held in Gaza for three years now, is "key to a change in the situation in the area." But Sarkozy also stressed that "you will have to release prisoners, otherwise there will be no deal."

Meanwhile, at the cabinet meeting Sunday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak refuted reports of a breakthrough in the negotiations to bring Shalit home.

"Not a day goes by that we do not think of Gilad Shalit," he said. "Not a day goes by that the best minds in the country are not working on the issue.

"The reports are not correct and they may even be damaging, and in this matter the less we talk and the more we focus on doing, the better."

Hamas also issued an official statement denying any progress on Shalit. The Hamas official assigned to the Shalit case, Osama al-Muzaini, said there had been no progress on the matter since Netanyahu assumed office.

Muzaini said no new Israeli offer on Shalit had been received, though the soldier was alive and had received the letter sent to him by his family through former U.S. president Jimmy Carter.

Regarding the negotiations, Muzaini said the latest Israeli offer had been for the release of 325 prisoners out of a list of 450 demanded by Hamas. However, he said Israel demanded that 125 of the 325 prisoners would be exiled from the West Bank.

Muzaini said that many of the prisoners had been imprisoned for life, and that Israel had offered to release 550 others who had been jailed for five to seven years. Their terms would be completed soon.

Contract negotiator

Unlike his predecessors, the newly appointed Israeli negotiator to win Shalit's release, Hagai Hadas, is employed as an external consultant and is being paid by the Prime Minister's Office, Channel 10 reported yesterday.

The contract for his employment is for a year, starting this month. The total remuneration stands at NIS 22,684 per year.

© 2009 Haaretz

Comments


No comments yet.

Please login to post your comment.













All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners.
Stories, Arguments and Comments are owned by the Poster.
The Rest copyright © 2007 Argumentations.com. All rights reserved. Argumentations.com provides material for research or educational purposes only. We do not warrant the correctness of its contents. The risk from using it lies entirely with the user. While using this site, you agree to have read and accepted our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Argumentations.com is far from perfect so if you have any critiques, questions, comments or problems about this site please tell us. Click here to send your feedback. And if you like Argumentations.com please link to this site. It will really help a lot.
   

Tags


Related statements

No results

View other suggested stories

Date added 
2009-07-06Rewards of Syrian diplomacy
2007-07-15“Two States Or One State” -- Debate by Uri Avnery & Ilan Pappe
2007-07-31Franco – Arab Ties Could Yet Survive Sarkozy’s U-Turn
2007-01-25MIDDLE EAST - Timeline of recent developments
2007-03-01ARAB COUNTRIES - GENERAL ANALYSIS
2007-03-31The Second Lebanon War -- It probably won't be the last
2008-04-22The March to War: Israel Prepares for War against Lebanon and Syria
2008-05-27Carter says Israel has arsenal of 150 nuclear weapons
2008-05-31The Palestinian Refugee Issue: Rhetoric vs. Reality
2008-06-22The Kiss of Death -- Olmert's Courtship of Abbas
2008-07-28More U-turns, please
2008-11-07Country Reports on Terrorism -- Chapter 2 -- Country Reports: Middle East and North Africa Overview
2008-11-10The Time Has Come to Say These Things
2008-12-14Use of the Veto on United Nations Resolutions by the USA
2009-01-01Israeli strike kills Hamas political leader
2009-01-21Iran: Breaking the Nuclear Deadlock -- A Chatham House Report
2009-01-22On Palestinian Question, Tough Choices for Obama
2009-03-17Solana urges future Israeli gov't to stick to two-state solution
2009-04-14Gulf war jitters -- Commentary
2009-05-10Country Reports on Terrorism 2008 -- Chapter 2. Country Reports: Middle East and North Africa Overview
2009-06-28Israel, Egypt negotiate terms of new Gaza truce
2009-03-17U.S. to preheat "engagement policy" in Middle East
2009-02-28Unity deal great leap for Palestinians, small step for Gaza truce
2009-03-02Chronology of major talks on Mideast peace
2009-01-04U.S. thwarts Libyan push for Gaza truce demand at U.N.
2008-12-29Washington bears guilt for Gaza war crimes
2009-01-04Biden's 'Obama Crisis' May Be A War Against Israel
2009-01-04Is the Real Target Hamas Rule?
2009-01-11The limits of diplomacy
2009-01-11The hundred years' war
2009-01-15Leading Israeli Scholar Avi Shlaim: Israel Committing “State Terror” in Gaza Attack, Preventing Peace
2008-11-07Country Reports on Terrorism -- Chapter 2 -- Country Reports: Europe and Eurasia Overview
2008-10-24The World Around Russia: 2017 -- An Outlook for the Midterm Future
2008-09-08U.S. losing ground, sway to Iran
2008-09-15A New Strategy for the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
2008-09-25Power, Politics & Scholarship
2008-06-21Jimmy Carter and Apartheid
2008-06-24Parisian option
2008-06-25Shackled Warrior -- Israel in bondage -- An NRO Q&A
2008-05-31Israel at Sixty: Asymmetry, Vulnerability, and the Search for Security
2008-05-19A Human Rights Crime In Gaza
2008-05-25Fmr. Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami Debates Outspoken Professor Norman Finkelstein on Israel, the Palestinians, and the Peace Process
2008-06-05Hizb ut-Tahrir and the fantasy of the caliphate -- Linked global groups are not political parties
2008-06-11The History of the House of Rothschild
2008-06-14A Year Under Hamas Alters Life in Gaza
2008-03-14Aims and Methods of Europe's Muslim Brotherhood
2008-01-11After Iraq
2008-02-26Fitzgerald: Islam for Infidels, Part Two
2008-02-29Islamist Bubbles -- Beware the light at the end of the Islamist tunnel
2007-04-12The Eurabia Code
2007-03-10Shattered Dreams of Peace - Timeline
2007-05-02Country Reports on Terrorism -- Chapter 2 -- Country Reports: Middle East and North Africa Overview
2007-05-02Country Reports on Terrorism -- Chapter 5 -- Terrorist Safe Havens (7120 Report)
2007-05-02Country Reports on Terrorism -- Chapter 6 -- Terrorist Organizations
2007-05-23Palestine: Forty Years of Occupation
2007-06-04Obstacles to peace: Borders and settlements
2007-06-061967: a war of miscalculation and misjudgment
2007-01-25Lebanon - Background / Timeline
2007-01-25Arafat Timeline
2007-02-13Israel: The Alternative
2007-08-17Profile of Khaled Meshal (aka Khalid Meshaal, Khaleed Mash’al)
2007-08-23Can't Stay the Course, Can't End the War, But We'll Call it Bipartisan
2007-09-07Israel’s cost to the Arabs
2007-07-03Our Second Biggest Mistake in the Middle East
2007-07-12House Armed Services Committee Global Security Assessment Statement For The Record
2007-06-14Abbas declares state of emergency as Hamas overrruns Gaza
2007-06-22Al Qaeda Strikes Back
2007-09-25Beneath the Hideous Veneer of "Security"
2007-11-12NATO Expands into Arab South
2007-11-22The United States’ new backyard
2007-11-26Bush launches biggest Mideast peace bid
2007-11-26Tragedy and Travesty at Annapolis
2007-12-07A new Chinese red line over Iran
2007-12-14The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict -- complete text
2007-12-17World powers gather in Paris to bankroll Palestinian state
2009-06-15U.S. shows flexiblility on settlements, foregoes demand for complete construction freeze
2009-06-16Netanyahu's speech vexes Arabs
2009-06-06Israeli media have mixed reactions to Obama's Cairo speech
2009-06-07The Wages of Hubris and Vengeance -- The Future of Israel and the Decline of the American Empire
2009-05-10Country Reports on Terrorism 2008 --
2009-05-22The Revenge of Geography
2009-05-22Averting Abuse of Universal Jurisdiction
2009-07-18Palestine's land Islamic endowment can never be dropped:Hamas minister
2007-12-17Donor conference politically oriented
2007-12-17Global donors pledge 7.4 bln dlrs for Palestinians
2007-12-22Hamas admits to fatal Israeli bus bombings
2008-01-03Is “Brotherhood” with America Possible?*
2008-01-03Conciliation versus conflict
2008-01-04Why Iraq? Oil and U.S. Foreign Policy
2007-11-27Bush urges Middle East leaders to make tough bargains
2007-11-27Iran Casts Big Shadow on Mideast Talks
2007-11-28Israel and Palestinians Set Goal of a Treaty in 2008
2007-11-13The Deadly Embrace
2007-11-11The Next Act -- Is a damaged Administration less likely to attack Iran, or more?
2007-11-11In the Wake of War: Geo-strategy, Terrorism, Oil Markets, and Domestic Politics
2007-11-21Bush to host key Mideast peace conference Nov 27
2007-09-25Where Justice Seems Very Far Away
2007-10-03Giuliani's proposal for endless Middle East wars on behalf of Israel
2007-10-03Why the United States Invaded Iraq and is Now Thinking About Invading Iran
2007-10-08Israel minister draws fire over Jerusalem division call
2007-09-24Key Arab Nations Invited to Peace Talks
2007-10-09SYRIA: Regime interests dictate regional policies
2007-10-21Iran tops agenda as Olmert visits Europe
2007-11-08If This Peace Process Fails
2007-06-22Symposium: Strategies of Death
2007-06-17More Smoke on the Horizon in the Middle East War Theater
2007-06-17Welcome to 'Palestine'
2007-06-19Syria: No secret peace talks with Israel
2007-06-18Israel-Lebanon conflict - timeline of events
2007-06-19Comparing US & Palestine homicide rates
2007-07-02Zionist Plan for the Middle East
2007-07-15Avrum Burg's act of infamy
2007-07-25Arab League in Jerusalem for 1st Time
2007-08-24The Challenge of Islam
2007-08-26Power shifting in the Middle East
2007-08-27Sarkozy calls for troop exit from Iraq
2007-08-16Turkey working to jumpstart peace talks between Israel, Syria
2007-08-19On Israel, America and AIPAC
2007-08-14Israel's Embarrassing History
2007-07-30Bush's real agenda in Palestine
2007-07-26U.S. Officials Voice Frustrations With Saudis’ Role in Iraq
2007-07-27To Check Syria, U.S. Explores Bond With Muslim Brothers
2007-01-16An Honest Man Refutes Propaganda - Carter's Inconvenient Truths
2006-12-16Revamping Us Foreign Policy, Part 1 - Full speed ahead, with menace
2006-12-03Middle East hot spots merging
2006-05-01Syria -- He doesn't know where to go
2006-05-01Political Islam -- Forty shades of green
2006-05-01Hamas Delegation Visits Moscow for a Crash Course in Diplomacy
2006-09-05Over U.S. Objections, Israel Approves West Bank Homes
2007-06-04We came, we shelled, we killed
2007-06-01The Importance of Being Lucid
2007-06-04Obstacles to peace: Refugees
2007-06-08Leaving the Zionist ghetto
2007-05-26Those pesky puppies of war
2007-05-27When oil and water mix
2007-05-23The six-day war is not over. Today, it brings the spectre of al-Qaida in Gaza
2007-05-28Forty years on
2007-05-06Palestinians reject US peace plan, Israel cool too
2007-05-08Hamas' Mickey Mouse: Teaching Kids to Hate and Kill
2007-05-10A Reporter At Large: In The Party Of God (Part II)
2007-03-13Years of Strife and Lost Hope Scar Young Palestinians
2007-03-09King Abdullah Calls for U.S. Help with Mideast Peace Plan
2007-03-09Assembly, Opening Debate On Question Of Palestine, Hears Call For Enhanced UN Involvement In Current Middle East Situation
2007-03-16The Arab Peace Initiative: This Time, Israel Is Missing an Historic Opportunity
2007-03-16President Bush Calls for New Palestinian Leadership
2007-03-16The Quartet conditions: Still standing
2007-04-17Commission Adopts Resolutions On Combating Defamation Of Religions; Right To Development
2007-04-02From the Wonderful Folks Who Brought You Iraq
2007-03-27Our World: Condi's embrace of jihadist 'peace'
2008-02-23The Two Faces of Saudi Arabia
2008-01-15'Syria, Iran trying to overthrow Abbas'
2008-01-07Abbas to Prod Bush on West Bank Settlements
2008-01-09Bush in Israel on Mideast peace drive
2008-01-18Israeli attacks on Gaza hobble Abbas
2008-04-10Eretz Israel HaShlema / Greater Israel
2008-04-10Imperial Israel: The Nile-to-Euphrates Calumny
2008-04-05Brothers in Arms?
2008-04-29Israel is suppressing a secret it must face
2008-06-01What is the Mission in the Gaza Strip?
2008-06-04A Peaceful Resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
2008-05-15Commentary: Iran's pawns move
2008-05-17Planned US Israeli Attack on Iran: Will there be a War against Iran?
2008-05-31The Diplomatic Dance with Hamas
2008-05-31Is Israel Bound by International Law to Supply Utilities, Goods, and Services to Gaza?
2008-06-24Border Policeman dies from self-inflicted shot at Sarkozy farewell
2008-06-25Samson's Fate
2008-06-23Gaza Truce Is a Sham, Say Analysts -- Israeli planning shaped by desire to attack Iran
2008-06-14Israel-Hamas Peace (Quietly) at Hand?
2008-06-18EU slams Israeli threat against Syria
2008-08-02The Zionist Plan of Stages
2008-08-18Have Israel-America-EU Set Up Palestine for Genocide?
2008-08-20Israel to treat Gaza peace boats 'like pirates'
2008-08-21The Dutch Israel Lobby