Deal To Free Gilad Shalit Reportedly Under Consideration at Jerusalem
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
A deal to release the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is under consideration in Jerusalem, newspapers in the Middle East are reporting.
The Israeli soldier has been a captive since 2006, when he was seized in a cross-border raid, and Israel’s cabinet was reportedly meeting this afternoon to decided on an agreement said to have been brokered by Egypt.
Israel’s Army Radio is reporting that the deal could involve swapping as many as “450 specific Hamas prisoners” being held by Israel and “up to 500 more,” according to a dispatch of the Jersualem Post. Reports differed on how quickly Shalit would be released were a deal approved by Israel’s cabinet, with some suggesting freedom could come in a matter of days and others not until next month.
