Hamas said on Friday it had suspended negotiations on the release of a captured Israeli soldier because the Jewish state was not respecting the terms of a calm with the rulers of Gaza Strip. "Hamas has suspended indirect negotiations with the enemy over (Corporal Gilad) Shalit because of the non-respect by the enemy of the terms of the truce, notably the opening of crossing points and authorising the entry of all merchandise" into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, said Osama al-Muzeini, Hamas' pointman on Shalit.
Muzeini was speaking as Israel again sealed off the Strip in retaliation for a rocket attack.
A Hamas delegation had cancelled plans to travel to Egypt on Thursday for talks on the prisoner exchange deal, Muzeini said. "We apologised to our Egyptian brothers and explained to them that the enemy did not respect the terms of the truce and that we could therefore not trust them to respect a possible agreement on a prisoner exchange," he said, according to AFP.
Negotiations would resume at a date that would be set "once the enemy demonstrates it is serious and respects the agreements that have been reached."
According to Muzeini, Hamas demanded that 1,000 prisoners eventually be freed, with 450 who are serving long sentences being released in a first stage as part of an eventual exchange deal. To date Israel has approved the names of only 70 of the 450, he said. "I believe that if the enemy finds itself faced with a tough negotiator, it will end up making concessions," Muzeini added.
© 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
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