A Norwegian defense official met with Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip about a prisoner exchange deal with Israel, the state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua reported yesterday. Last week, the efforts of a German mediator in the talks were confirmed by sources within Hamas and the Egyptian government.
On the agenda was the possibility of European countries absorbing prisoners expelled from Israel and the Palestinian territories in the event of a prisoner swap for captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. This is the first time that a European state has expressed such a willingness in connection to an exchange for Shalit. Following the Israel Defense Forces' 2002 Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank, Fatah operatives holed up in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity were exiled to several European countries. The Chinese news reports are believed to be credible. In the past Xinhua has reported on several meetings between top Hamas officials and foreign leaders, and a month ago the agency was the first to report on a Hamas delegation headed by Mahmoud Zahar that traveled to Geneva to met with senior Swiss Foreign Ministry officials.
Norway has been in regular contact with representatives of the Hamas government in Gaza since its victory in the 2006 Palestinian elections. Several years ago, the country's foreign ministry appointed a special envoy to the Hamas regime, and Norwegian diplomats regularly visit Hamas leaders in Gaza and Damascus.
Noam Shalit, the abducted soldier's father, has been in contact with Norwegian authorities in the past, through the efforts of former MK Yossi Beilin.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1113367.html
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