Hamas to discuss Shalit in Damascus

LONDON, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Revised proposals for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit prompted senior Hamas officials to plan a trip to Damascus for discussions, officials said.

A report by the London-based al-Hayat newspaper Friday said a delegation of Hamas officials from Gaza will meet with Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal to discuss proposals offered by German mediator Gerhard Conrad.

A senior Hamas official told the newspaper Conrad proposed a number of new ideas for a prisoner exchange in a recent two-day visit to the Gaza Strip. Conrad is expected to return to Gaza for a response, the paper said.

In response to the report, an Egyptian source told Haaretz the proposals require Hamas and Israeli leaders to make decisions.

The source said rather than offering new proposals, Conrad made minor changes to what already had been discussed.

In July 2006, Shalit was on operational duty near the Gaza Strip when he was abducted. He has been held incommunicado ever since.