Israel say Hamas hardened on prisoner swap

JERUSALEM, March 17 (UPI) -- Israeli negotiators returning to Jerusalem Tuesday said Hamas officials have taken a harder stance over the release of an Israeli soldier.

"It became clear during the discussions that Hamas had hardened its position, reneged on understandings that had been formulated over the past year and raised extreme demands," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmer's office said in a statement.

The statement didn't indicate what led to the change in Hamas' position on releasing Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, CNN reported.

Israeli Security Agency Director Yuval Diskin and the prime minister's special envoy, Ofer Dekel, had been participating in Egyptian-brokered talks on the soldier's release and reports indicated a breakthrough had occurred.

Hamas had demanded that Israel release hundreds of prisoners in exchange for Shalit, captured during an Israel-Gaza cross-border raid in June 2006. Israel said many of the prisoners Hamas wants freed were behind terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and won't be released.

Olmert, whose term is nearing an end, has been criticized for failing to secure Shalit's release. Incoming Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is expected to take a harder negotiating position, CNN reported

Outgoing Pensioners Affairs Minister Rafi Eitan said he didn't expect a Cabinet vote on the issue and hinted Israel may have to take military action against Hamas, The Jerusalem Post reported.

"The question is whether there will be anything to vote on. The Cabinet is only one side of the coin," he told Army Radio. "But ultimately, there is no room for a radical movement like Hamas. Sooner or later, any (future) government will have to consider dealing with the matter much more aggressively."