Israelis Send Mixed Signals On Swap

(CBS/AP)  Two weeks into Israel's violent standoff with Hamas, Israel sent conflicting signals Friday on whether it is prepared to swap Palestinian prisoners for a 19-year-old Israeli soldier whose capture by Palestinian militants has touched off a harsh Israeli military campaign.

Israeli troops have killed 32 Palestinians in two days of air strikes and artillery barrages, Palestinian officials said. The campaign is aimed at stopping rocket attacks on Israel and pressuring the ruling Hamas movement to release the kidnapped soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit.

Israel's public security minister, Avi Dichter, suggested Friday that Israel is ready to cut a deal that would fall short of a direct prisoner swap.

Dichter said Israel could free some Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture, provided Shalit is released and Hamas stops rocket attacks on Israel. If there is calm, "Israel will need to, after some time, release prisoners as a reciprocal gesture," Dichter said. "Israel knows how to do this. Israel has done this more than once in the past."

He was referring to previous prisoner swaps, usually in deals that free far more Palestinians than Israelis. Privately, Israeli officials have said they did not rule out talks in Shalit's case, either.

Moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he has won Israeli assurances that it would reciprocate for Shalit's release by freeing some prisoners, as well as Hamas politicians it has rounded up in recent days.

Officials close to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert later said Dichter's statement did not reflect the views of the government, and that Israel insists on the soldier's unconditional release. However, the government did not issue a formal statement distancing itself from the minister.

Israel does not want to be seen as cutting a deal with Hamas militants, but also does not seem to have a way to free the soldier by force.

In other developments:

About one-fifth of the 165,000 Palestinian government employees will receive a small down payment on long-overdue salaries, officials said Friday. These government employees form the backbone of the Palestinian labor force and their salaries sustain about one-third of the Palestinians. Small down payments have been paid twice before.

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