Egyptian sources predict Shalit deal

JERUSALEM, March 20 (UPI) -- An Arab language newspaper says it has been told by Egyptian sources that a deal will likely be reached to free kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

London-based Al-Hayat says its sources predict a prisoner exchange agreement will be hammered out before Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert leaves office, Israel's Ynetnews, Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post all reported on Friday.

Khaled Mashaal, the exiled Hamas leader living in Damascus, told the Sydney Morning Herald in an interview that the group may have to abduct more soldiers. Mashaal accused Israel of reneging on agreements, failing, for example, to open crossings between Gaza and Israel after Hamas called a cease-fire and stopped firing rockets into Israel.

"The Israelis just don't learn. When they refuse to release Palestinians, it forces the Palestinians to resort to other means to gain their release -- and inevitably this includes the capture of more Israeli soldiers," he said.

Egyptian-mediated talks between Hamas and Israel for the release of Shalit were suspended this week after the two parties failed to agree on the number of Hamas prisoners Israel would exchange.

Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official, told Haaretz, that the organization's delegation has not left Cairo and is prepared to resume talks.

A demonstration is scheduled in Jerusalem on Saturday marking 1,000 days since Shalit was captured by Palestinian militants in a 2006 cross-border raid.

After attending the rally, Shalit's parents plan to return to their home in the northern community of Mitzpe Hila.