AFP - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said it was not clear whether Israel would strike a prisoner swap deal with Hamas that would see hundreds of Palestinians freed for a captured soldier.
"At the moment there is no deal and it is not at all clear to me if there will be one," a senior official quoted Netanyahu as telling ministers from his rightwing Likud party ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting.
"If we get a real proposal, I will bring it before the government, but we are not there yet and I don't know if we will get there," Netanyahu said, according to the official who was present at the gathering.
Netanyahu also said he would go to Egypt to meet President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday. Cairo had been mediating the talks for months without success before the entry of a German mediator earlier this year raised hopes of a deal.
The meeting between Netanyahu and Mubarak comes following a round of talks between Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and top officials in Israel and after Israel last week gave a German mediator its latest proposal over the swap.
Netanyahu said that the killing of a Jewish settler in a West Bank attack last week underscored fears that a prisoner release could lead to a new wave of violence.
The Israeli army on Saturday killed three Palestinians in the city of Nablus which it said carried out the deadly attack, including one who was released from Israeli prison several years ago.
"The fear that terrorists could return to terror activity is a key consideration in the negotiations on Gilad Shalit. The security of our citizens, especially those in Judaea and Samaria (West Bank) is cardinal," Netanyahu said.
"We want to have our prisoners released but ... We will not agree to expose our citizens to terrorism," he said. in the negotiations on Gilad Shalit. The security of our citizens, especially those in Judaea and Samaria (West Bank) is cardinal," Netanyahu said.
"We want to have our prisoners released but ... We will not agree to expose our citizens to terrorism,".
"At the moment there is no deal and it is not at all clear to me if there will be one," a senior official quoted Netanyahu as telling ministers from his rightwing Likud party ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting.
"If we get a real proposal, I will bring it before the government, but we are not there yet and I don't know if we will get there," Netanyahu said, according to the official who was present at the gathering.
Netanyahu also said he would go to Egypt to meet President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday. Cairo had been mediating the talks for months without success before the entry of a German mediator earlier this year raised hopes of a deal.
The meeting between Netanyahu and Mubarak comes following a round of talks between Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and top officials in Israel and after Israel last week gave a German mediator its latest proposal over the swap.
Netanyahu said that the killing of a Jewish settler in a West Bank attack last week underscored fears that a prisoner release could lead to a new wave of violence.
The Israeli army on Saturday killed three Palestinians in the city of Nablus which it said carried out the deadly attack, including one who was released from Israeli prison several years ago.
"The fear that terrorists could return to terror activity is a key consideration in the negotiations on Gilad Shalit. The security of our citizens, especially those in Judaea and Samaria (West Bank) is cardinal," Netanyahu said.
"We want to have our prisoners released but ... We will not agree to expose our citizens to terrorism," he said. in the negotiations on Gilad Shalit. The security of our citizens, especially those in Judaea and Samaria (West Bank) is cardinal," Netanyahu said.
"We want to have our prisoners released but ... We will not agree to expose our citizens to terrorism,".