Gaddafi offered to handover Shalit in exchange for halting NATO attack –
Israeli official

02/09/2011 By Nazir Majalli
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=26437

Tel Aviv, Asharq Al-Awsat – Israeli Deputy Minister for the Development of
the Negev and Galilee, Druze politician Ayoob Kara, has revealed that
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi offered to secure the release of captured Israeli
soldier Gilad Shalit and sign an Israeli – Libyan Peace Treaty in return for
Tel Aviv convincing the international community to halt the NATO attacks on
Libya.

In an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Kara revealed that “I have
mutual friends with Saif al-Islam Gaddafi in Austria. He [Saif al-Islam]
studied in Vienna for a number of years, and I have a number of friends who
were his class-mates there and who interceded on his behalf. The main figure
in the mediation was David Lazar [member of the Austrian Freedom Party] who
is a Jewish Austrian citizen who came forward to us with this offer.”

Kara also revealed that Gaddafi sent him an official invitation to visit
Libya in order to discuss this proposal, and that he personally wanted to
visit Libya in this regard but was prevented from doing so by the Israeli
authorities for security reasons. For this reason, the Israeli Deputy
Minister asked his Austrian friend to visit Libya in his place. David Lazar,
who is also reportedly a member of the Vienna City Council, visited Libya
where he met with Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and spoke with him in detail about
Libya’s offer to secure the release of Gilad Shalit and sign a peace treaty
with Israel. Kara claimed that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi even expressed his
willingness to personally visit Israel – after securing the release of Gilad
Shalit – and speak before the Knesset, in the same manner as Egyptian
President Anwar Sadat in 1977.

Kara also told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Libyan offer was taken seriously in
Tel Aviv, who asked Gaddafi to present it in writing; however the situation
in Tripoli collapsed before Gaddafi could do so – with the rebels advance on
the Libyan capital – which resulted in the Israeli authorities deciding to
end communication with the Gaddafi regime.

In response to a question as to whether he believed that Libya could
genuinely secure the release of Gilad Shalit, who has been held by Hamas
since June 2006, Kara said that “we also asked this question, and the answer
we received was that Saif al-Islam and his father have very serious
relations with Hamas chief Khalid Meshal and with the Syrian authorities.”
He added that “there was no doubt that he [Saif al-Islam] could talk in
confidence about bartering [for Shalit’s release] in the context of this
[Israeli – Libyan] deal.

Answering a question regarding what precisely the Gaddafi regime required
from Israel in response to this, Kara revealed that “they wanted the NATO
forces to stop their war on Gaddafi. They also asked for Israel to intervene
[on behalf of Libya] to the US, which would influence their allies in Europe
and put a stop to the [NATO] attack.”

As for whether Tel Aviv could accept such demands, Kara told Asharq Al-Awsat
that “we are interested in freeing Shalit and signing a peace treaty with
another Arab country.”

Asked whether it was politically viable for Israel to support a regime that
is pursuing a policy of violence and suppression against its own people, the
Israeli Deputy Minister stressed that “we do not interfere in the internal
affairs of any state. Also this was an issue that would be discussed by the
government, and it would be the [Israeli] government that ultimately makes
the decision. We did not reach this stage, because the offer came too late.”

Kara also informed Asharq Al-Awsat that Tel Aviv is not currently in
communication with the ousted Libyan leader, although when asked whether
Israel knows where Gaddafi is today, he refused to comment.