Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday morning left for Cairo for a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak towards advancing efforts to bring Gilad Shalit home as the nation prepares to mark his third anniversary in Hamas captivity.

The two officials discussed a number of current event issues, the elections in Iran and Lebanon, advancing regional peace efforts, US President Barak Obama’s address, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s Bar Ilan address, and of course, stalled efforts towards the release of Shalit. They also discussed the situation throughout Yehuda and Shomron.

While the Prime Minister’s Office and Defense Ministry are remaining silent as to Shalit’s plight and Egypt’s role as handling the mediated talks between Israel and Hamas. The London-based Arabic al-Shark al-Awsat reports “there are optimistic signs” regarding progress between Israel and Hamas.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)