Hamas Says Israeli Offer for Shalit Deal Is "Unacceptable"

The Israeli offer for a prisoner exchange deal relayed to Hamas by a German mediator is "unacceptable," a source in the Palestinian resistance organization told the London-based Arabic-language al-Hayat newspaper on Friday.

The source warned that "Israel will wait a long time if it fails to pay the price for the release of (captured occupation soldier Gilad) Shalit."

The source described the latest Israeli offer as "a deportation deal rather than a prisoner release deal." He said that Israel's refusal to free senior prisoners affiliated with Hamas' military wing – like Ibrahim Majed, Jamal Abu al-Hayja, Abdullah Barghouti, Abbas al-Sayyed and Hassan Salameh "means that Israel is not serious in the negotiations."

According to the source, "This deal has caused us to be reluctant to accept the deal, as it has not given the movement anything from what it can receive."

The London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported that the two camps in Hamas are at odds on whether to accept Israel's latest offer. Hamas members in Gaza are demanding that the deal be finalized in accordance with the Israeli proposal, while Hamas leaders in Damascus say a deal cannot be completed without the senior detainees Israel refuses to free.

However, the Islamic resistance group rebuffed claims that the Gaza and Damascus leaderships were conflicted on the matter, saying no final decision have been made on any level.

"Deliberations cannot be brief when we have to confer with our jailed leaders and the prisoners themselves. This process takes time," said the source.

According to the report, a Hamas delegation led by Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar will leave for Cairo on Friday and head to Damascus in order to meet with organization leaders in Syria and form the movement's stand on Israel's latest offer.

According to the same sources, the Israeli proposal relayed by the German mediator appears to be more flexible and is willing to release all the names on the Hamas list, which includes 450 detainees, apart for nine "heavy" detainees. In addition, Israel seeks to deport abroad some 120 detainees, who have been sentenced to life terms.

According to a Hamas source, the major bones of contention are "first and foremost the mass (prisoner) deportation from the West Bank, followed by Israel's refusal to release top leaders and third – Israel's reluctance to limit the deportation period to no more than two years.”

Hamas seems to view the subject of deportation as more significant than the Israeli refusal to release several detainees.

The detainees themselves, added the source, were conflicted: “Over the past few hours there have been debates on several levels at prison. Some prisoners are willing to accept deportation but need clarifications regarding the time period. Others reject the notion completely, saying they prefer to stay in jail.”

Hamas stressed recently that it will not allow "people who are in their homeland and near their families to be deported. We are considering the matter in principle as (a solution) for people for whom deportation is the only way to get out of life sentences. It is also important to emphasize that the deportation must be acceptable to the prisoners. We will not enforce it."

A source added that "Hamas is determined to release all the prisoners on the list." The movement will accept the deportation principle, but demands that the prisoner will be the one to choose the destination and that all detainees will not be deported to one European countries where they will all be supervised, as demanded by Israel.

According to the sources, Israel's stand which negates the release of the nine detainees, and Hamas' stand which insists on the release of all detainees, may delay the deal by several months.

"If Hamas accepts the Israeli offer, the completion of the deal will be announced in Cairo. The first stage of the deal – the release of 450 prisoners – will be implemented 24 hours later. After they are transferred to the German mediator, whether in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, Shalit will be handed over to the Egyptians," one of the sources said.

Hamas also refused to name the detainees Israel refuses to release: "Overall, they are the same names who are mentioned in the media. We are still adamant that all the names mentioned in our list will be included in the deal," said the source. “These prisoners have no other chance of being released so we have to take our time. We estimate that several rounds of mediation will be needed, despite the fact that the negotiations are ongoing.”