Israel Wants More Before Signing Ceasefire Deal

Cairo, Egypt (AHN) - The Israeli government said on Monday that it will not agree to an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip until it includes the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said that they also have reservations on the issue of arms smuggling.

Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman is currently in Israel to conduct negotiations, but Israel is adamant that the Egyptian-backed proposal would not be agreed upon in its current form.

Discussions over which prisoners Israel would release in a prisoner exchange have stalled because Israel is unsure of whom to release. Hamas wants hundreds of Palestinians released from Israeli prisons, some for murder.

"Shalit is an integral element of the situation," the PM's spokesman, Mark Regev, said. "Hamas cannot expect Israel to sit by idly when they are holding a young serviceman hostage now for almost two years."

Noam Shalit, the captive soldier's father, called for any deal to include his son. "I cannot imagine that the state of Israel would agree to any kind of arrangement or understandings without Gilad being freed," he told Israel Radio.

Hamas has said Israel is attempting to avoid signing an agreement and the issue of Shalit is being used to deflect their lack of desire to have a ceasefire.

"Any new conditions are an attempt to sabotage [Suleiman's] efforts," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told reporters.