Israel's outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has delayed a special cabinet session on a Hamas prisoner swap as two envoys are still holding talks in Cairo, his office said on Monday. "In light of the negotiations that are currently continuing in Cairo regarding the release of Gilad Shalit, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert decided ... to postpone by 24 hours the cabinet meeting" that was scheduled for Monday, said a statement from his office.
"It should be emphasised that as of yet, there is no sign that indicates a result in any particular direction in the negotiations," it warned, according to AFP.
The extraordinary cabinet session will hear the report of the two senior security envoys whom Olmert had dispatched to the Egyptian capital for talks on a swap with the rulers the Gaza Strip. The deal would see the release of Shalit in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Meanwhile, the Israeli press on Monday reported progress in the Cairo talks. Yediot Ahronot daily said that the postponement of the Israeli special cabinet meeting pointed to progress in the negotiations in Cairo. It explained that the main obstacle before the conclusion of that deal was Israel's insistence on deportation of "heavy weight" Palestinian prisoners to be freed in the deal.
