Israel’s most senior politician has answered the Palestinian Authority chairman’s suggestion that two high-ranking Palestinians be released in return for captured soldier Gilad Shalit. On Monday, Mahmoud ‘Abbas told an Egyptian satellite network that he would propose exchanging Shalit for Marwan Barghouti, the popular leader of Fatah’s Tanzim faction, who is serving five consecutive life sentences for terrorist murder, and Ahmad Saadat, the man the Israelis blame for the assassination of tourism minister Rehavam Ze’evi in 2001. The first response came from Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres, who told Israel Radio that ‘Abbas “can forget it.” Peres said ‘Abbas "would be making a mistake if he set conditions for the release of Shalit." The soldier was captured on June 25 during a cross-border raid by three terrorist organizations, including Hamas. On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was prepared to negotiate Shalit’s release with ‘Abbas.