Jerusalem - Senior Israeli cabinet ministers met Monday for the fourth time in 24 hours, to debate a proposed deal with Hamas, which would see a thousand Palestinian prisoners freed in exchange for an Israeli soldier held in Gaza for more than three years. The six ministers and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had met late into the night Sunday to discuss whether to approve releasing around 1,000 prisoners in return for Gilad Shalit, who was snatched on June 25, 2006 during a cross-border raid launched form the Gaza Strip.
The "forum of seven," as they are known, are said to be split down the middle over accepting the deal, leaving Netanyahu with the deciding vote.
According to media reports, Netanyahu however opposes allowing freed militants to return to their homes in the West Bank, close to Israeli population centers, and would prefer them to be exiled to the Gaza Strip or even overseas.
It is unclear whether Hamas will accept this.
As the ministers met, members of the Campaign to Free Gilad Shalit demonstrated outside Netanyahu's office, holding up life-sized cardboard cutouts of the abducted soldier.
Shalit's mother, Avivia, told Israel Army Radio that "I hope that the forum of seven will decide today and that every person who votes will realize that his vote means either a death sentence for Gilad or his release to life."
If the seven ministers approve the proposed deal, it has to be brought before the full cabinet for a vote.
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