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A senior Hamas official stated Sunday that he expects that a truce with Israel could be declared after the Israeli elections next Tuesday, and that the issue of the captured soldier, Gilad Shalit, would also be concluded, the Maan News Agency reported.

Gilad Shalit - Image by AP

The official said that there are some points in the Israeli truce offer that need further clarification, especially issues regarding border terminals and the goods that would be allowed into Gaza, in addition to linking the issue of Shalit with opening border terminals.

He added that indirect prisoner-swap talks witnessed “surprising developments” which could lead to ending this issue after the upcoming Israeli elections, Maan added.

The official also stated that Hamas demands the release of detainees who were sentenced to high terms and those who are accused of killing Israelis.

He said that the issue of the detained Fateh leader Marwan Barghouthi, and Ahmad Saadat, the detained Secretary-general of the Popular From for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) should also be resolved.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian source said that Hamas and other factions will most likely agree on a truce on Monday.

Raffi Eitan, Israeli Minister of Pensioner Affairs, stated Sunday that a prisoner-swap deal could be conducted within the coming weeks.

Eitan, who is currently in charge of evaluating the demands of Hamas regarding the release of 1400 detainees, said that a swap deal could be concluded before a new coalition government is formed in Israel.

In an interview with the Israeli Army Radio, Eitan said that there is a strong possibility that such a deal will be concluded with Hamas by the current Israeli government.  

“By experience, we know that forming a new government could take up to six weeks”, Eitan added.

Furthermore, Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported that according to Egyptian sources, Hamas agreed to the Israeli demand of linking the issue of fully opening border terminals with the issue of releasing Shalit.

 Haaretz added that this issue allowed further progress towards declaring a ceasefire by connecting a full opening of the border terminals with the release of Shalit.

Yet, the Egyptian sources said that it remains unclear when a breakthrough would be achieved.

Haaretz reported that Egypt is promoting a plan which includes opening the crossing to function 80% of their capacity when a ceasefire deal is reached.

But Israel is still demanding to ban certain materials from entering the Gaza Strip; this includes cement and iron among other materials. Banning the entry of cement and Iron would prevent rebuilding thousands of homes and facilities destroyed during Israel’s “Cast Lead” offensive.

 Israel said that an agreement on cement and other materials would only be allowed reached after the release of Shalit, thus linking the fate of thousands of homeless residents with this issue, and placing further pressure on Hamas to accept the Israeli stance.