Hamas is more powerful than the Palestinian Authority government and "is like a cancer," Senior Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad said Wednesday. Gilad said talks with Hamas designed to secure the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Schalit had improved since the Gaza truce went into effect in June, but added that a deal was "not close." He went on to say that current peace talks between Israel and the moderate Palestinian forces in charge of the West Bank are not likely to bear fruit until those forces retake Gaza from Hamas, and likened the situation to negotiating with "half a body."