Hamas rejects Red Cross request to see abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit - Haaretz

Subscribe to Print Edition

Sat., September 08, 2007 Elul 25, 5767

Israel Time: 01:44 (EST+7)

web haaretz.com

Back to Homepage

Print Edition

Diplomacy

Defense

Arts & Leisure

Real Estate

Jewish World

National

Advertising

Magazine

Week's End

Business

Opinion

Rosner's Domain

Anglo File

Books

Travel

del.icio.us

Digg It! new

Hamas rejects Red Cross request to see abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit

By Avi Issacharoff, Amos Harel and Jack Khoury

Hamas yesterday turned down a request by the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, who abducted in a cross-border raid in June 2006.

Osama Al-Mazini, a senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip, said that allowing a visit might lead Israel to Shalit.

	Advertisement

The director general of the ICRC, Angelo Gnaedinger, made the request during a visit to Gaza on Wednesday, where he met with Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh. Afterward, he announced that Red Cross representatives might soon be allowed to visit Shalit - something Hamas had hitherto not allowed.

Al-Mazini also denied yesterday that Hamas has received a new Israeli offer aimed at securing Shalit's release. He was responding to a report in yesterday's Haaretz stating that Israel had recently sent Hamas a new proposal on the issue. The report did not give any details of the proposal.

The Haaretz report also quoted a senior Hamas official as saying that European officials from more than one country recently began mediating between Israel and Hamas over Shalit, though the official, who asked to remain anonymous, declined to specify which countries. Al-Mazini, who is in charge of prisoners' affairs for Hamas, did not comment on this portion of the report.

The anonymous official said that the chief European mediator, whom he declined to name, is working according to the same guidelines that a German intelligence official is using in his efforts to mediate between Israel and Hezbollah over the two soldiers that Hezbollah kidnapped last summer. The official added that Egypt is also still playing an important role in the negotiations, since it is well-versed in all the details of the talks to date. Nevertheless, Cairo, once the chief mediator, has recently lowered its profile.

Bookmark to del.icio.us


	A puzzle unsolved
	The death of Charles Jordan is one of the biggest mysteries of the Cold War era.


	My world, a bag
	Israel can learn a lot from how other countries are fighting the plastic bag plague.

Today Online


	Bradley Burston: The Special Place in Hell awards, 5768
	Responses: 308


	Syrian VP says Damascus' response to IAF action will come quickly
	Responses: 306


	Editorial: Britain should support Israel with a royal visit
	Responses: 228


	Gideon Biger: Viable peace deal will involve population transfers
	Responses: 222


	Rosner: Study finds young U.S. Jews alienated from Israel
	Responses: 103


	Ex-Yad Vashem head may face probe into role in WWII murders
	Responses: 140

More Headlines
23:52 Syrian VP says Damascus' response to IAF action will come quickly


01:27 Turkey asks for clarification from Israel after finding 2 fuel tanks


00:51 Police arrest eight neo-Nazi teenagers from Petah Tikva


21:27 Palestinians: Undercover IDF soldiers seize Hamas officer


18:59 Rabbi wounded in stabbing in Frankfurt financial district


01:41 Dahlan: Lack of commitments from U.S., Israel will doom conference


00:44 HMO: Holidays prompt more Israelis to seek psychological help


21:30 England defeats Israel 3 - 0 in Euro 2008 qualifier match


21:38 Police arrest suspected murderer who escaped from mental hospital