Egyptian foreign minister pledges support for Palestinian state CAIRO: Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman has told Israeli officials that Hamas-captured Israeli soldier Corporal Gilad Shalit will be released within the next three weeks according to Israeli Cabinet Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer in an interview with Israel's Army Radio Thursday. Ben-Eliezer was quoted as saying, "Within three weeks he [Suleiman] believes Gilad will be home, after he had met with an Egyptian official who is on a visit to Israel. Shalit was captured by Hamas in a cross-border raid last June and Suleiman believes a prisoner exchange will see him released soon according to the Israeli cabinet minister. Many Hamas officials are in Egypt to hold discussions with senior officials. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal was in Egypt to discuss the release of Shalit and new Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh (also from Hamas) met with Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit Thursday after meetings with Suleiman and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa. Mashaal was in Cairo as part of a Hamas delegation to discuss a prisoner swap with Israel. Hamas want 1,400 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit. In his meeting with Haniyeh, Abul-Gheit reiterated Egypt's consistent support for the creation of a Palestinian state side by side with an Israeli one on the land annexed in 1967. He added that the recently agreed upon ceasefire between the two sides was an important step in maintaining calm in the area and thus providing the necessary conditions for the peace process to take its natural course. Abul-Gheit stated that the brokered ceasefire must be followed by other conciliatory steps between the two sides such as the prisoner exchange Egypt is helping to broker, where Shalit will be released in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli prisons. Arab League spokesman and advisor Alaa Roushdy had previously told The Daily Star Egypt that the Palestinian ceasefire is a welcome move that will hopefully lead to further progress. "We welcome the Palestinian initiative. We hope this puts a stop to violence in the Gaza Strip, Israeli incursions and the death of civilians. It's a start and might eventually mean a return to negotiations. Abul-Gheit said, "Egypt is ready to increase contact in the next phase with all the parties involved with the Palestinian case, in order to restart the peace process and agree on the aspects of a final settlement. Haniyeh is also due to visit Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Syria and Iran to raise money for his Western-boycotted government.
