Israel's Olmert takes last efforts to free Shalit before term ends
Jerusalem - Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was taking efforts before his term ends to obtain the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Israeli media reported Sunday.
Two envoys - Israeli domestic security head Yuval Diskin and diplomat Ofer Dekel - were sent by Olmert to Cairo to engage in last- ditch negotiations for a prisoner exchange with the radical Palestinian Islamic group Hamas, reports said.
A special session of the Israeli government is to take place on Monday to discuss a possible exchange agreement.
Shalit was captured in June 2006 by militant Palestinians under Hamas command in the Gaza Strip. In a campaign for Shalit's release, the soldier's parents have pitched themselves in a tent in front of Olmert's home for a week.
Hamas had demanded the release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees in Israel in exchange for the captured soldier. (dpa)
