(haaretz).Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would not rule out the renewal of negotiations with Hamas in an attempt to secure the release of captured Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit.
Netanyahu, who spoke to reporters in Rome after meeting with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said that he had given instructions "to every government agency to combine their efforts in order to bring about the release of Shalit."
Netanyahu denied Arab media reports that Shalit would be transferred to Egypt in the coming days and said that "I cannot confirm that I heard such information and if such a thing was about to happen, I would be informed about it."
The reports claimed that the abducted soldier would be transferred from the Gaza Strip, where he has been held for nearly three years, to Egypt "within the hour."
