EU: 'Gilad Shalit transfer to Egypt imminent'

(Haaretz). European diplomatic sources said Thursday that kidnapped Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit will be transferred to Egypt in the coming hours or coming days. This information has yet to be confirmed by Israeli officials. According to the European sources, Shalit's transfer is the first stage of an agreement between the various Palestinian factions, assisted by Egyptian mediation and done in coordination with the United States and with the support of Syria. Advertisement Shalit will be used as a "deposit" toward the completion of a prisoner exchange between the Palestinian factions, the sources said. The agreement will include the exchange of prisoners and the opening of crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip. According to Egyptian officials, a deal will be signed between Fatah, Hamas and other Palestinian factions by July 7 at the latest. The deal would put the Gaza Strip under the leadership of a joint committee subordinate to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and not under the control of the government of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.