Olmert and Barak opt for truce instead of military operation in Gaza

DEBKAfile’s military and Middle East sources report that Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak will inform Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak at their meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh Monday, May 19, that the kidnapped Israel soldier Gilead Shalit must be included in the ceasefire deal.Israel and Hamas have been using Egypt’s good office to negotiate a ceasefire.Without consulting the security cabinet, our military sources reveal that Olmert and Barak have finally come down in favor of a truce with Hamas instead of a substantial military operation to eliminate the Palestinian fundamentalists’ war machine and wipe out the missiles plaguing their Israeli neighbors.Hamas quickly countered by raising its price for the soldier it snatched two years ago, namely more jailed terrorists “with blood on their hands.” Israel has offered 72 of these hardened murderers and held back on the 280 terrorists on Hamas’ list. But after relenting on Hamas’ truce terms, Olmert and Barak are expected to reach a compromise on this issue as well. Olmert’s statement at the Sunday, May 18, government session in Jerusalem that the Gaza situation cannot go on and Israel “is very close to the point of a decision” on this issue is seen by inside sources as an attempt to mislead the go down more smoothly if Gilead Shalit were part of the deal.What is really close at hand, according to DEBKAfile’s military sources, is the deal for a ceasefire.Two key questions are still outstanding:
1. The number of jailed Palestinian murderers Israel is willing to trade for Shalit.
2. How and when Israel will lift its blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. This will entail throwing open all the enclave’s border crossings as part of the reciprocal ceasefire package.
The Barak-Mubarak interview Monday has a good chance of settling both these questions. Mubarak, who wants closure on the Gaza question, knows that in these matters, the Israeli defense minister is the man to do business with.
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5279

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