Former defense minister Amir Peretz, has revealed that during his tenure in the Olmert administration, a deal was in the works by which Gilad Shalit would have been released by Hamas two weeks after he was abducted. Peretz explained to the media that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was involved in heavy negotiations, and the administration was willing to release terrorists to bring Shalit home.

Talks involved Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and even Hamas officials in Damascus, including Khaled Meshal, “but something blew up at their end” explains the former senior minister.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)