CAIRO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told the pan-Arabic London-based daily Al-Hayat that his nation is close to securing a prisoner exchange deal with Israel. But, he argued that although the final agreement between Hamas and Israel over prisoners is completed, the obstacle of Israel's insistence on deporting West Bank prisoners to the Gaza Strip remains unsolved. Aboul Gheit called the Jewish states desire to transport the prisoners away from the West Bank – where Israel's military presence remains strong – is “unethical” and “unacceptable from a moral and human point of view.” Speaking to the Arabic newspaper, the foreign minister confirmed that a deal has nearly been finalized that would see a number of Palestinian prisoners released from prison in exchange for kidpanned Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit – who has been somewhere in Gaza for the past few years after being taken by Palestinians during an Israeli raid. The Egyptian minister noted that “the number of prisoners to be released by Israel has already been agreed on, as were the stages of the release. Many arrangements have also been agreed upon, including the problem of some of the Palestinians holding an Israeli citizenship and the deportation from the territories.” He added that “the talks between Egypt and Israel on this matter have dealt with Israel changing its demands and accepting the Egyptian logic. We can guarantee that those freed will not harm Israel's security after their release. We are taking this on our shoulders, but the Israelis are insisting on deporting them, and this is unacceptable.” Egypt has been leading the diplomatic charge to secure a deal between Hamas in Gaza and Israel, but until recently had been not seeing much success. This, the foreign minister says, could be a turning point in Egyptian efforts to stablize the region. BM
