A list of prisoners which Hamas wants released in exchange for an Israeli soldier does not include jailed popular Fatah leader Marwan Barghuti, an Israeli minister said on Wednesday.
"Marwan Barghuti's name does not appear on the list" which Egyptian mediators handed to Israel last week, Housing Minister Meir Sheetrit told public radio. By these words, the Israeli minister confirmed a report appeared ealier today in the Arabic al Hayat daily.
On Tuesday, Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert presided over a first meeting with the heads of the country's security establishment to discuss the list, over which Israel voiced "disappointment and reservations."
According to AFP, Olmert will convene the security cabinet next Sunday to set Israel's criteria for clearing prisoners for release, although Israel has said it would not free Barghuti or other prisoners responsible for killing Israelis.
A source close to the Palestinian government told AFP the list, which contained the names of 450 prisoners, included both Barghuti and Ahmed Saadat, chief of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya said on Tuesday that the ball was in Israel's court. "We are serious in our will to proceed with an exchange and we hope that negotiations will lead to the freeing of our detainees from the prisons of the Israeli occupier," Haniya told reporters.
