Israel moves closer to freeing captive soldier

In a statement,Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday that it expects Schalit’s Hamas captors to release a recent videotape of the soldier. The deal is to be carried out on Friday.

The statement said Israel’s Security Cabinet accepted the deal,put forward by Egyptian and German mediators,as a “confidence-building measure.” It quoted a senior official in Netanyahu’s office as saying the negotiations are still “expected to be long and difficult.”

The deal was carried out,the statement said,”ahead of the critical stages in the negotiations for the release of Gilad Schalit and based on Israel’s commitment to work with determination to bring him home quickly.”

Hamas is demanding that Israel release hundreds of prisoners,many of whom are serving lengthy sentences for violent attacks on Israelis,in exchange for the soldier.