CAIRO: Egypt has beefed up security along its border with the Gaza Strip as Israel was poised for an assault against the territory to free one of its kidnapped soldiers, security sources said Tuesday. More than 1,000 lightly-armed policemen were dispatched to reinforce the 750-strong paramilitary unit of border guards deployed in the area since Israel s withdrawal from Gaza in September 2005, an official said. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the security official said the reinforcement was aimed at containing a possible influx of Palestinians seeking to leave the territory in the event of a vast Israeli operation there. Egypt was involved in intensive efforts to secure the release of an Israeli soldier kidnapped in the Gaza Strip but observed a strict media blackout on the mediation Monday.
Thousands of Israeli troops massed on the Gaza border Tuesday, poised for an offensive to free the kidnapped teenage soldier likely to trigger a sharp escalation in the Middle East conflict
Israel has flatly rejected a demand from three militant groups, including the armed wing of the governing Hamas, for the release of all Palestinian women and children from Israeli jails in exchange for information on the soldier. Although Israel has said it will first exhaust diplomatic efforts to free Gilad Shalit, Palestinians have abandoned southern border homes fearing a large-scale assault, while militants fearing assassination have gone to ground. Defense Minister Amir Peretz on Tuesday toured the massive troop build-up, helping to provide a full naval and ground blockade on Gaza amid fears that Hamas militants could try to smuggle Shalit abroad. The terrorists have to understand that their deeds will not go unpunished, Peretz told journalists, emphasizing however that Israeli anger should not dictate military decisions which should be fully thought out. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has warned that a large-scale military operation is approaching, vowing no negotiations with the abductors.
Officials contacted by AFP at the presidency, the prime minister s office and the foreign ministry all refused to be quoted or even discuss the issue.
As always in such cases, the intelligence services are in control and everybody in Egypt literally stops communicating, says Emad Gad, a political analyst specializing in Israeli issues at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.
Diaa Rashwan, another Egyptian expert, says: Egypt is deeply involved in this mediation, as it was in the previous attempts to rekindle an Israeli-Palestinian dialogue.
There is a political consensus on this issue in Egypt but nobody will say anything until this story is over, he adds.
Israeli public radio reported early Monday that an Egyptian delegation in the Gaza Strip had established a contact with the kidnappers of the Israeli soldier.
Twenty-year-old Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit, who also holds French nationality, was snatched at dawn on Sunday in a raid on an army post on the Gaza Strip, in which two other Israeli servicemen and two Palestinian fighters were killed.
Three Palestinian militant groups called for the release of all Palestinian women and children from Israeli jails in exchange for information on the soldier.
Among the groups is the armed wing of the Hamas movement which controls the cabinet, dashing already dim hopes of an Israeli-Palestinian dialogue and heightening fears that the area would sink deeper into chaos.
Israel vowed to avenge any harm done to the soldier.
West Bank strongman Jibril Rajub, a member of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas moderate Fatah movement, told AFP in Ramallah that he was due to meet Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit in Cairo Monday.
He added he would hold more consultations on the kidnapping with Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman and top presidential Osama Al-Baz on Tuesday.
The Jerusalem Post said it was the Egyptian consulate that established indirect contact with the kidnappers and offered medical supplies for Shalit, who suffered head and chest wounds during the operation.
The Israeli daily Haaretz also said that Egyptian negotiators held talks in Gaza with Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar in a bid to secure the release of the soldier.
The Israeli embassy in Cairo refused to comment on the mediation attempt.
On Sunday, the Egyptian foreign minister strongly condemned the Palestinian attack and urged all parties involved in the conflict to exercise restraint.
The [escalation of violence] will have negative effects on all parties, Abul-Gheit said in a statement, calling on Israel to stop taking any steps that will further complicate the situation.
But the Al Ahram daily retorted that Sunday s operation targeted occupation soldiers, who are a legitimate target according to international law .
Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel and is also the Gaza Strip s only opening on the outside world, conferring it a central role in Israeli-Palestinian contacts.
The most astonishing thing about Egypt s silence is that Cairo could reap many benefits from this mediation, especially in its standing with the U.S., Gad said. AFP
