Israeli-Hamas prisoner deal may be reached

CAIRO, March 13 (UPI) -- Israeli officials have agreed to free 450 Hamas prisoners in exchange for kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Palestinian sources in Cairo said Friday.

A sticking point revolves around Israel's demand that some of the prisoners be deported or relocated instead of being returned to the West Bank, the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported.

Palestinian sources told the Israeli publication Haaretz that Israel "is insisting that several dozen of the released prisoners be exiled abroad and that others be released to Gaza rather than the West Bank." Hamas leaders indicated they agreed to the deportation of "only a handful of prisoners" and only with the prisoners' consent.

Ofer Dekel, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's special envoy in the negotiations, returned from Egypt to Israel Thursday night for consultations, Ynetnews reported. Dekel was expected to return to Cairo soon to resume the talks brokered by Egyptian officials.

The list of Hamas prisoners includes the secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Ahmad Sadat, who reportedly orchestrated the assassination of Rehavam Zeevi, an Israeli minister and military leader, Ynetnews said.

Shalit was captured by Hamas during an Israel-Gaza cross-border raid in June 2006 and has been held hostage since.