The Israeli Prime Minister has confirmed that a deal is underway to bring home the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

According to Mr Netanyahu's official Twitter feed, the 25-year-old will be coming home within days.

"We have concluded arduous negotiations with Hamas to release Gilad Shalit. He will be coming home in the next few days," said a message posted on Twitter.

The Israeli army general whose planned visit to Britain five years ago sparked a campaign to change the law on universal jurisdiction is finally to complete his aborted journey.

The battle for social justice, demanded by hundreds of thousands on the streets of Israel throughout the summer, is swiftly becoming the battle for the defence budget.

"So far, the Palestinians are sticking by our arrangements," said the senior IDF officer as he looked from afar at the small group of Palestinian youths throwing stones and bottles at the Kalandia Crossing, north of Jerusalem, on Wednesday.

The stone-throwing at what has become over years the "traditional" flashpoint between Israeli forces and Palestinian demonstrators, surprised no-one.

"We are preparing for the worst," said an officer in the IDF's Central Command this week, "but we honestly do not believe that there will be an escalation this month."

Tens of thousands of soldiers and police officers have undergone special training for dealing with mass non-violent demonstrations over the past three months and the army and police have stockpiled £13m worth of new riot-control

The Israeli army is facing criticism after it transferred four female soldiers from a unit because a group of Orthodox male soldiers were set to join.

The women were part of an Artillery Corps battalion and had all recently agreed to complete another year of service.

A nine-month-old baby was injured yesterday as the latest round of rocket fire from Gaza caused damage to southern Israel.

Seventeen rockets were fired across the border by terrorist groups on Wednesday night, wrecking property. A rocket aimed directly at the densely populated city of Beersheva was intercepted by the Iron Dome system.