ISRAEL HINTS AT PRISONER RELEASE TO FREE SHALIT

Dichter hints at possibility of prisoner exchange deal (JPost)
Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter said early Friday afternoon that Israel would not rule out the possibility of releasing Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of captured soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit and for the cessation of Kassam rocket attacks against Israeli targets.

Dichter, the former chief of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), said, "If Israel needs to release prisoners in exchange for releasing the soldier Gilad Shalit, Israel will do it. Israel has released prisoners in the past, both in exchange for the release of hostages, as well as in return for creating periods of calm."

The minister insisted that the only possible outcome of the hostage crisis was that "Gilad Shalit will return home. Period. There is no other possibility."

He added that the release of detainees in exchange for Shalit and the cessation of rocket attacks was "an achievable goal." Dichter stated that Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would have to find a way out by meeting the Israeli demands.

One of the minister's associates later clarified that Dichter was not suggesting a prisoner exchange deal, but rather the unconditional release of Shalit. He stated that Dichter meant that if calm was restored and the rocket launches ceased, it would create an atmosphere that would enable Israel to provide goodwill gestures, such as prisoner releases.