RELATED:Hamas: 'Israel exaggerating Schalit talks on purpose'Schalit family protests at Kibbutz DeganiaA Hamas official also told Al-Hayat that Israel refused to release 15 senior Palestinian officials, including Ahmed Sadaat and Marwan Barghouti, after their names had already been approved. Hamas military chief Ahmed Al-Jabri reportedly will not agree to a prisoner exchange without those 15 prisoners.In an interview Sunday morning with Army Radio, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu confirmed that contacts started anew a number of weeks ago to gain Schalit's release."There has been a renewal of contact with the German negotiator,” Netanyahu said, adding that his office is dealing with the Schalit dossier on a continuous basis in a variety of ways.The central channel, he said, is “negotiation [through the German mediator] that started a number of weeks ago.”However, Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar told Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram that Netanyahu's announcement was an attempt to divert attention from Israel's harsh treatment of Palestinian prisoners.
'German diplomat continues efforts to free Schalit'
Report: Konrad visits Hamas members in prison in attempt to negotiate soldier's release; Hamas official says Israel refusing to free Bargouti.
RELATED:Hamas: 'Israel exaggerating Schalit talks on purpose'Schalit family protests at Kibbutz DeganiaA Hamas official also told Al-Hayat that Israel refused to release 15 senior Palestinian officials, including Ahmed Sadaat and Marwan Barghouti, after their names had already been approved. Hamas military chief Ahmed Al-Jabri reportedly will not agree to a prisoner exchange without those 15 prisoners.In an interview Sunday morning with Army Radio, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu confirmed that contacts started anew a number of weeks ago to gain Schalit's release."There has been a renewal of contact with the German negotiator,” Netanyahu said, adding that his office is dealing with the Schalit dossier on a continuous basis in a variety of ways.The central channel, he said, is “negotiation [through the German mediator] that started a number of weeks ago.”However, Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar told Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram that Netanyahu's announcement was an attempt to divert attention from Israel's harsh treatment of Palestinian prisoners.