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Israeli Defense Official Discusses Hamas, Egypt
(Ha'aretz) Ilan Lior and Yanir Yagna - A senior Israeli defense official told reporters on Wednesday, "It's hard to conduct negotiations [on freeing captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit] with four different Hamas heads. Ismail Haniyeh has his own views, [Khaled] Mashal has opinions of his own, and Ahmed Jaberi and Mohammed Deif also have their own independent ideas." Israel has "worked out understandings with some Hamas officials regarding a deal [to free Shalit], but other elements in Hamas have scuttled it." The official said that the Egyptian army has been cooperating reasonably well with Israel. Yet "one thing which is hard for the Egyptian army to control is the Sinai, which has turned into a black hole, as far as terror is concerned." He added, "The explosion of the gas pipeline was not an act of terror against the State of Israel. Instead, it expressed a desire for protection money."