President Mubarak yesterday met with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Cairo. They discussed the efforts to revive the peace process in the Middle East, the situation in the Palestinian territories and the Egyptian efforts to start serious negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides. Well-informed sources said Barak's talks with President Mubarak and Omar Suleiman addressed the deal of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit that was captured by Hamas. They told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the visit aimed to finalize that deal. They said an Egyptian security delegation will go to the Gaza Strip to discuss the security arrangements for bringing Shalit to Egypt. Once he is in Cairo, Israel would immediately release 150 Palestinian prisoners. And when Shalit arrives in Israel, it would release 450 more, followed by yet more prisoners, until the total number reaches 1000. The sources said that Khaled Mashaal, Head of the Hamas Political Bureau, in his last visit gave Cairo a green light to strike the deal. For its part, Israel released Dr. Aziz Dweik, Head of the Palestinian Legislative Council, after more than a year of detention. They said the deal will strengthen Egypt's regional weight and its role in the next steps needed to reach a long-term and mutual truce, cease all mutual military operations and sign an agreement between the Palestinian factions to end their discord.
