Five senior Hamas officials will head to Damascus, Syria on Sunday to discuss kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Schalit with the Hamas leadership, according to a report by the Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat on Friday.
The Hamas officials, including Mahmoud A-Zahar and Halil El-Haya, hail from the Gaza Strip and Denmark. They reportedly plan to bring up suggestions made by German negotiator Gerard Conrad.
Conrad will visit Gaza once Hamas has answers from Damascus, according to Palestinian sources.
"We will discuss his [Conrad’s] new suggestions as the negotiator is expected to visit Gaza soon and receive answers from us regarding his suggestions," a Hamas official told Al-Hayat. "Only after we return from Damascus will we provide him with our answers."
According to the report, the Hamas delegation will also discuss the political situation in the West Bank and Gaza, in light of the Al-Jazeera TV network’s leak of secret Palestinian documents regarding peace negotiations with Israel.
In a related matter, hundreds of Jewish and Arab residents of the Gilboa region embarked on a bicycle rally Friday morning in a call to release Schalit.
Following the demonstration, a march will take place, ultimately ending with a support rally.
Schalit relatives took part in the demonstration.
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