Ben-Eliezer: Israel Closer Than Ever to Shalit Deal

Barak Ravid, Avi Issacharoff and Jonathan Lis (Haaretz)

November 24, 2009

Israel is closer than ever to securing a deal with Hamas for the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, Trade Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said on Tuesday while on an official visit to Ankara. … Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Likud’s Knesset faction on Monday, however, that a deal for Shalit’s release has not been finalized. …

In recent days Netanyahu has been working to ensure that the cabinet will approve the deal. At a meeting in his office a few days ago, the possibility was raised of submitting the agreement to a limited forum before presenting it to the entire cabinet for approval.

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“We knew at the outset that the task would be difficult. We acknowledged that publicly and privately. We knew this would be a road with many bumps— and there have been many bumps—and that continues to this day. But we are not deterred. We are, to the contrary, determined more than ever to proceed to realize the common objective, which we all share, of a Middle East that is at peace with security and prosperity for the people of Israel, for Palestinians, and for all the people in the region. We will continue our efforts in that regard, undeterred and undaunted by the difficulties, the complexities or the bumps in the road.”—George Mitchell, special envoy for Middle East peace, remarks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, September 29, 2010

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