Hamas minister freed by Israel-witnesses
Source: Reuters
(Adds minister's quote, Israeli spokeswoman) By Wael al-Ahmed JENIN, West Bank, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Israel on Wednesday released one of the Hamas government ministers it detained after gunmen from the Gaza Strip abducted an Israeli soldier in June. It was not immediately clear whether the release of Palestinian Public Works and Housing Minister Abdel-Rahman Zidan of Hamas was linked to a possible prisoner exchange deal following a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip over the weekend. A spokeswoman at the Israeli Prime Minister's office said the release was ordered by a military court. She offered no other details. The release of Zidan coincided with a visit to Israel by Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman for talks on a possible deal that would include Israel's release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of the captured Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit. Zidan said he had been interrogated about his role in the Palestinian government and had been detained in uncomfortable conditions. "I hope that this interference will stop. This will not gain the peace they (Israel) talk about," Zidan told Reuters after he was released by Israeli police at a checkpoint near the West Bank town of Jenin. Zidan, who was detained by Israel on Nov. 3, was greeted by Hamas supporters and his family. Suleiman, who is in touch with the governing Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, has served as a go-between in trying to end the crisis since militants seized Shalit in a cross-border raid last June. Dozens of Hamas lawmakers and a number of cabinet ministers were detained after Shalit's capture and most remain in custody. Zidan's release came on the eve of talks between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Rice will also meet on Thursday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. After a Gaza truce took hold on Sunday, Olmert said for the first time that he was ready to free many jailed Palestinians, including long-serving prisoners, if Shalit was released. The ceasefire, with the immediate aim of ending rocket fire from Gaza and an Israeli offensive into the territory, has also fuelled hope of a revival of peace talks that collapsed in 2000 before the start of a Palestinian uprising. (Additional reporting by Ali Samoudi in Jenin, Ori Lewis in Jerusalem and Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah)
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