Report: Norway to intermediate Hamas-Israel negotiations
According to Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, Hamas welcomed Norwegians to become involved; a Shalit-like deal is in the works.
By MAARIV ONLINE, JERUSALEM
Norway is intermediating between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas in
an attempt to reach an agreement on the return of Israeli hostages in
the Gaza strip, the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar reported on Monday.
On Monday evening Maariv online reported that a top Israeli source
denied these claims. Palestinian media reported on Saturday that a Hamas
delegation led by Saleh al-Arouri, a prominent Hamas leader, departed
to Cairo to discuss with the Egyptians how further negotiations with
Israel might be conducted.
The Egyptian intermediates who attempted to broker an agreement between
Hamas and the PA left Gaza a week ago. Hamas stated that there is no
hope of reconciliation with PA President Mahmoud Abbas. The London-based
Arab newspaper Al-Hayat reported in July that Germany, after
successfully brokering the 2011 Shalit deal, is hoping to reach similar
success in achieving the liberation of two Israeli citizens currently
held captive by Hamas in the Gaza strip, Hisham al-Sayed and Avera
Mangisto, as well as returning the bodies of Israeli soldiers Hadar
Goldin and Oron Shaul, kept by Hamas as bartering chips.
As in the Shalit deal, in which IDF soldier Gilad Shalit was released by
Hamas in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli
prisons, it is expected that Hamas will request further releases.
Al-Hayat also reported that the Germans have carried out negotiations
with Hamas for the past three years, and that these talks have been
carried out by both the German diplomatic mission in Israel and a German
full-time negotiator who is working from the German capital. Al-Hayat
claimed that while the Germans are shaping the deal, the Egyptians would
be in charge of ensuring it is carried out as agreed upon on the
ground, as they had done in 2011 when Shalit was released.
Within Israel it had been noted that unlike Shalit, who is a Jewish
Israeli and was serving in the IDF at the time of his abduction, the
prolonged captivity of Bedouin-Israeli al-Sayed and the
Ethiopian-Israeli Mangisto has not obtained similar amounts of public
attention as Shalit's.
The Goldin family, in contrast, has lead both a national and
international campaign calling for the return of their son's remains to
Israel.
The Shalit deal led to a massive controversy in Israeli society, with
some arguing that it demonstrated the value of human life for Israelis
and others, claiming it only encourages Hamas and others to abduct
Israelis, dead or alive, knowing that eventually Israel would give in.
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