Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in his recent meeting with Noam and Aviva Shalit learned the parents of captive soldier Gilad Shalit no longer place their faith in the hands of the prime minister’s emissary responsible for talks to obtain his release, Ofir Dekel.

It was assumed that after assuming office the prime minister would be replacing Dekel, who served under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and the statement made by Shalit’s parents gives additional credence to the decision to appoint a replacement.

Officials are hinting the prime minister will select someone with a security background although names of candidates are not being announced at present. In the meantime, the prime minister continues to confer with ISA (Israel Security Agency – Shin Bet) Director Yuval Diskin, who remains involved in the Shalit matter and has made numerous trips to Cairo to represent Israel in mediated talks.

In a related matter, on Wednesday, Egyptian Intelligence Chief General Omar Suleiman will be arriving in Israel, scheduled to meet with the prime minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The Shalit issue will be on the agenda alongside a number of other issues.
Talks surrounding a prisoner release deal to obtain Shalit’s release have been mediated by the Egyptians, as Israel is unwilling to enter into direct negotiations with Hamas.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)