By Xinhua,
Jerusalem : Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert flew to Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday morning for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the fate of the Israeli abducted soldier Gilad Shalit.
Olmert is expected to ask Mubarak to press Hamas, which has held Shalit since June 2006, to be more flexible on the names of the prisoners it is demanding release in return for Shalit, and also to keep the Rafah crossing closed until significant progress is made on the Shalit track, local daily Jerusalem Post reported.
Hamas demanded Israel to release 450 prisoners it is holding in exchange for Shalit. The London-based newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reported on Saturday that Shalit’s release was being delayed by a dispute between Israel and Hamas over the fate of 30 Hamas prisoners.
Olmert will also seek assurances from Mubarak that Egypt will do more to fight arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip, the report said.
In addition, the two leaders are expected to discuss the indirect talks taking place with Syria, the negotiations with the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and the Gaza ceasefire.
Egypt has brokered a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas that went to effect last week.