Other parts of the proposed accord called for a prisoner exchange that
would include Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit, abducted by Hamas and its allies
from his
military base in June 2006. Hamas has demanded the release of more than 450
Hamas and other Palestinians detained in Israel.
The Israeli side has been led by Defense Ministry senior official Amos
Gilad. Gilad, head of the ministry's political-military bureau, has spent
much of the last few weeks in Cairo in efforts to draft an agreement with
Egypt on border security.
Officials said Gilad has insisted that any deal include the halt of
Hamas weapons smuggling from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip. In
exchange, they said, Gilad has been directed to offer the reopening of all
border crossings along the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, Egypt briefed visiting Palestinian Authority Chairman
Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah on the negotiations with Israel.
The pan-Arab A-Jazeera satellite channel quoted President Hosni Mubarak as
saying that any Palestinian ceasefire with Israel would include the West
Bank.
The United States has also been involved in the negotiations, officials
said. They said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wants Gaza
border crossings to come under PA control.
After months of opposition, Barak has not ruled out this option.
Instead, the defense minister, following a meeting with Ms. Rice in late
March, has linked the U.S. demand to a halt in Palestinian missile strikes
from the Gaza Strip.
"When conditions have matured in the future for an end to the Kassam
rockets and the terrorism and a lessening of the smuggling of weapons from
Sinai into the Gaza Strip, we will be willing to consider easing the
situation at the crossings into Gaza through cooperation with
representatives of the government of [PA Prime Minister Salam] Fayyad,"
Barak said in a statement on March 31.
Officials said the military has warned Barak against relying on Egypt to
impose security along the Sinai-Gaza border. They said the military has also
opposed the U.S. demand for Israel to transfer responsibility for the Gaza
border crossings to the PA.