According to Egyptian media report, Hamas is about to hand over a new list of prisoners as Israel continues efforts to obtain the release of Gilad Shalit. The reports add however that the new list may contain some “cosmetic changes” but in essence, the change will not be significant.

The news comes as Defense Minister Ehud Barak is set to meet in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Sunday, hoping to advance talks to obtain Shalit’s release. The Egyptian media adds that due to pressure exerted by Egyptian Intelligence Chief General Omar Suleiman, Hamas politburo leader Khaled Meshal canceled a planned address from Damascus, his response to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s Bar Ilan address. Suleiman felt that at present, with efforts ongoing to close a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas, such an address would have been harmful.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)