'Cease-fire removes pressure on Hamas to release Schalit'

Defense officials: If there is an IDF Gaza operation, his life could be in danger.

By YAAKOV KATZ
Gilad Schalit 298 88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Gilad Schalit 298 88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Time is running out to strike a deal with Hamas for the release of Gilad Schalit, and a new Egyptian proposal presented in talks last week with the terror group in Cairo is likely to be rejected, senior defense officials said over the holiday. Last week, head of the Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Security Bureau, Amos Gilad, visited Cairo for talks with Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman. The talks focused mostly on the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. According to defense officials, the cease-fire with Hamas has removed any means of pressure Israel had over Hamas and as a result, the terror group is not in a rush to carry out a prisoner swap for Schalit. "There is no real means of pressure over Hamas," one senior official said. "Hamas is gaining from the cease-fire since it is able to solidify its control over Gaza and at the same time provide for the people there." The only real asset that Israel has, the official said, was the reopening of the Rafah Terminal which Egypt has said would only reopen following Schalit's release. Due to the relative quiet in Gaza since the cease-fire, Hamas, the official said, prefers to keep Schalit in captivity so he can serve as a "human shield" against IDF operations. One of the concerns in the defense establishment is that continued stagnation in the talks could lead Hamas to possibly harm Schalit. "The cease-fire is fragile and will likely not last forever," another official explained. "When it breaks down and there is an IDF operation in Gaza, Schalit's life could be in danger."