A German mediator gave Hamas on Wednesday Israel"s response to a proposed swap freeing hundreds of jailed Palestinians for a captured soldier, and the Islamist group said it would need days to review the new draft, according to Reuters. Signalling a possible breakthrough, a Hamas official said he expected the group to send a delegation from the Gaza Strip to Damascus by Thursday to meet exiled Hamas leaders. Such rare conferences are reserved by Hamas for important policymaking. Israel kept a lid on which of the Hamas demands it may meet to recover Gilad Shalit, an army conscript who has become a cause celebre during 3-1/2 years" captivity in Hamas-ruled Gaza. Security minister Eli Yishai reiterated Israel"s misgivings over a prisoner amnesty likely to boost Hamas, which spurns peace with the Jewish state and is in a power struggle with Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "We always say "not at any price" because otherwise our enemies would exploit it. But on the other hand, we have to make every possible effort," Yishai told Israel"s Army Radio. "Where is the middle ground? I think any further (public) words about this would be excessive." Under the proposed exchange, about 1,000 of the some 11,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons would be released. Officials familiar with the negotiations said Israel had ruled out releasing a handful of top Palestinian militants serving life sentences for orchestrating lethal attacks. Israel was also intent on barring between 100 and 120 other Palestinians from returning to the West Bank, where Abbas holds sway, and they might be sent instead to Gaza or abroad. DILEMMAS Hamas had agreed that some prisoners be exiled but wanted them to be able to choose their destinations, officials said. Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza said the group had received Israel"s response through the German mediator, and that "Hamas will study the response." A Hamas official who spoke on condition of anonymity said it could take a few days to formulate a response it would then hand to the mediator. "A delegation from the group in Gaza will leave for Syria for a broader discussion," the official added. Shalit, now 23, was seized by Hamas-led gunmen who tunnelled into Israel in 2006. He is incommunicado except for a videotape, voice recording and letter released by Hamas as proof of life. For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a rightist who has long cultivated "tough on terror" credentials, the release of senior Hamas prisoners poses a particular dilemma. Developments in the negotiations look to coincide with the anniversary of a Gaza offensive launched by Israel on Dec. 27 last year. At least 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis died. The United Nations and Western powers hope a swap will lead to a relaxation of Israel"s blockade of Gaza, many of whose 1.5 million Palestinians depend on food aid and smuggled goods. Netanyahu has given no indication he will ease the restrictions after a deal with Hamas, which has rejected Western demands to recognise Israel and renounce violence. Israel Radio said the German mediator -- an intelligence officer whose name is barred from publication -- had left Gaza and was expected to fly home to await a possible return. -- SPA
