Outgoing Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert will convene his security cabinet on Wednesday to consider a prisoner swap with Hamas that could lead to a truce in the Gaza Strip, officials said today.
Mr Olmert is mounting a last-ditch effort to free captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit before leaving office.
He has refused to accept an Egyptian-proposed ceasefire that would open the Gaza Strip's border crossings until Mr Shalit is released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
A senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mr Olmert's security cabinet would discuss and possibly "authorise the parameters of a deal" on Wednesday.
"This is real. They are discussing and debating who will be released" in exchange for Mr Shalit, a second official said.
Hamas warned today that Mr Olmert's brinkmanship over Shalit put broader ceasefire talks in jeopardy.
But senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera Television from Cairo, "We are ready ... to open the file of Gilad Shalit for negotiation."
"If they want him back at home as they say, they have to let the Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons go home too."
Hamas official Taher al-Nono said "a clear agreement" on a ceasefire had been reached until Mr Olmert, over the weekend, insisted on Mr Shalit being freed first.
"We stress our rejection of any Israeli blackmail," he said.
Israel believes last month's military offensive in the Gaza Strip increased its leverage over Hamas, increasing the chances of a breakthrough on Mr Shalit, who was captured in a cross-border raid by Gaza militants in 2006.
Reuters
