Benjamin Netanyahu said the German mediator brokering the release of Sgt. Gilad Schalit in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners has returned to the region.
Schalit was nabbed by Hamas-linked militants in June 2006 in a raid across the Gaza-Israel border. Gaza’s Hamas rulers are trying to exchange him for hundreds of supporters.
Negotiations have been deadlocked for several months, over Israel’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demand that it release Palestinians convicted of carrying out deadly attacks against Israeli civilians. The secretive negotiations, mediated by Egypt and later Germany, had so far failed to produce results.
Over the weekend, Hamas officials said the lead German mediator visited the region and resumed his mediation, which Netanyahu confirmed.
“We are operating at all times, in different and various ways to bring him back. One of these ways, even the main way, is this negotiation, which indeed resumed a few weeks ago,” Netanyahu told Israel Radio.
Netanyahu said it would be unwise to discuss any details further but confirmed that “contact has been restored with the German mediator.” Schalit’s captors have denied any access to the soldier and demand an exchange of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for him.
Netanyahu has said he is willing to trade 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for Schalit, but would not include prisoners convicted of involvement in deadly attacks for fear that they would return to violence if freed.
Schalit’s plight has touched many in Israel, where military service is compulsory for Jewish citizens. The Schalit family has enjoyed broad public support for their campaign to release the soldier. On Sunday, they will once again demonstrate before the Israeli Cabinet in their weekly meeting to urge that a deal be struck.
Noam Schalit, the soldier’s father, said Sunday he knows of no new progress made in the talks.
The release of Palestinian prisoners is also one of the most emotional issues in their society.
There are around 7,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails. Most Palestinians have a relative or know someone who served prison time in Israel for reasons ranging from throwing stones at Israeli soldiers to masterminding militant attacks that killed civilians.
In other developments, an Israeli airstrike killed one Gaza militant and wounded two others in northern Gaza early Sunday.
Hamas officials said Israeli forces opened fire at a militant training ground north of Gaza City. The Israeli military confirmed it targeted a squad of militants preparing to fire rockets toward Israel.
The Israeli military said more than 165 rockets and mortars have been fired at Israeli from Gaza so far this year.
