Israel, Hamas Inch Toward 980-for-1 Swap

Israel and Hamas continue to inch toward a prisoner swap deal, which reports indicate will include 980 Palestinians held by Israel in return for captured soldier Gilad Shalit, who was taken by Hamas in a cross-border raid in June of 2006. Predictions of the imminence of an agreement published in Arabic-language newspapers have been more optimistic than comments from Israeli sources, including Prime Minister Netanyahu. The latest back-and-forth includes charges by Hamas that Israel is sabotaging the deal by not agreeing to Hamas’s terms. Specifically at issue is whether Israel will include several particularly notorious terrorists in the deal. Responding to a request by Israel’s Supreme Court in a case filed by citizens demanding to know the identities of those who will be released, the government indicated it will free the 450 named on Hamas’s list and add an additional 530 that it will choose, but did not reveal any of the names.