Khaled Meshaal, leader of Palestinian faction Hamas, arrived in Cairo on Tuesday in surprise visit. Meshaal arrived from Damascus and is heading a delegation of 12 officials. His visit comes amid speculation about an imminent prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel. The deal is expected to involve the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been held hostage by Hamas since 2006, in return for freeing hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Egypt has been mediating the negotiations since 2009, but the process has not yet met with any success. In 2009, Shalit was close to being released, but negotiations failed due to disagreements over the identities of the Palestinian prisoners and the location of their release. Israel insisted on excluding from the deal individuals who have taken part in attacks on its territories. Translated from the Arabic Edition
