RAMALLAH: Israeli Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit yesterday said that the National Security Cabinet had decided that the border crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip would not be opened until Hamas agreed to release Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Sheetrit told Israeli Radio that the Cabinet agreed “it would be inconceivable for Israel to accept an Egyptian-proposed cease-fire calling for reopening the border crossings to more than limited humanitarian aid without Shalit’s release.”
The Cabinet convened in Jerusalem yesterday morning for a discussion, which was meant to pave the way for Shalit’s return in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
The decision made by the ministers, however, was of a nonbinding nature only, and the actual deal may have to wait for the next government to take office.
Olmert asked his ministers to approve the principle that a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas would take place before another truce was declared and before the Gaza Strip crossings were reopened; the ministers unanimously supported him. The Israeli war on Gaza last month and the Israeli elections seemed to have created the conditions for a prisoner swap, but Olmert sounded slightly reserved on Tuesday. “I hope these things end shortly, but even if they don’t end during my tenure, the foundations we’ve built will help Shalit’s release,” he said. In any event, Olmert did not convene the ministerial committee, headed by Vice Premier Haim Ramon, to relax criteria which would allow the release of an additional 120 to 140 senior Palestinian prisoners included in Hamas’ list of demands, in addition to 230 which have already been approved.
Many Israeli activists demonstrated outside the Cabinet meeting, urging the ministers to use the end of their tenure to return a soldier kidnapped “during their shift.”
