We will act forcefully against Hamas: Israel

Netanyahu would be travelling to Egypt on Tuesday to meet President Hosni Mubarak for talks on the prisoner deal. “I won’t expand on the details of this matter so as not to harm the negotiations, but if a deal does come to fruition, I will bring it to the government for a debate and approval. However, at this stage we are not close to a deal,” Netanyahu told ministers.

The hardliner premier highlighting the problems of such a deal noted that one of the Palestinian militants Israel killed in the West Bank town of Nablus on Saturday had been recently released from an Israeli jail.

Israel will “continue to act forcefully against any attack on Israeli citizens and any shooting of rockets or missiles at Israel,” he said at a weekly Cabinet session.

The Jewish state claimed that the three militants killed in a raid by the army were involved in the killing of an Israeli citizen, Rabbi Avshalom Chai, last Thursday. Netanyahu stressed that this brought out the “cardinal” considerations involved in releasing terrorists to live in the West Bank.

Under the terms of a proposed deal for the release of abducted Israeli Soldier, Gilad Shalit, Israel would be reportedly freeing hundreds of convicted Palestinians. Hamas said that the Islamic faction holding the Israeli soldier would give its response within three days.