Report: Norway may take some Palestinians freed for Shalit
Norwegian official spoke with Hamas after Germany joined mediation for Shalit deal, sources tell Xinhua.
By Barak Ravid Tags: Gilad Shalit Norway Hamas Israel newsSome Palestinian prisoners freed in exchange for abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit could be exiled to Norway and other European countries, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, a Norwegian security official traveled to the Gaza Strip last week to meet with Hamas leaders regarding the deal.
"The talks focused on the number of Palestinian prisoners that Israel would expel to some European countries including Norway," sources told Xinhua.
Israel is prepared to release 450 Palestinian prisoners as soon as Hamas delivers Shalit to Egypt, the sources said, and will free another 550 once the abducted soldier arrives in Israel.
This was the first time that a European state has expressed such a willingness in connection to an exchange for Shalit.
Following the IDF's 2002 Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank, Fatah operatives holed up in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity were exiled to several European countries.
The Chinese news reports are believed to be credible. In the past Xinhua has reported on several meetings between top Hamas officials and foreign leaders, and a month ago the agency was the first to report on a Hamas delegation headed by Mahmoud Zahar that traveled to Geneva to met with senior Swiss Foreign Ministry officials.
Norway has been in regular contact with representatives of the Hamas government in Gaza since its victory in the 2006 Palestinian elections. Several years ago, the country's foreign ministry appointed a special envoy to the Hamas regime, and Norwegian diplomats regularly visit Hamas leaders in Gaza and Damascus.
Noam Shalit, the abducted soldier's father, has been in contact with Norwegian authorities in the past, through the efforts of former MK Yossi Beilin. The elder Shalit asked the officials to obtain a sign of life from his son, and later Hamas released the only audio recording of Shalit that has been released since his kidnapping.
Shalit has been in Palestinian captivity since he was abducted in a cross-border raid from the Gaza Strip in 2006. Reports of late have indicated progress in negotiations for his release, but nothing has yet been confirmed.
The Norwegian official visited Gaza after German negotiators joined the Egyptian mediation effort, the sources told Xinhua.
Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal, who traveled to Cairo over the weekend for negotiations on the swap, said Sunday there was still a long way to go before any agreement could be reached on a deal for Shalit's release.
The Hamas leader told reporters in Cairo that there was still "not a short path to go" before the negotiations with Israel were completed, despite the new German mediation.
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You claim there is nobody in Israeli prisons who is not there for some offense. Until Israel stops throwing people into jail with no trial and no legal justification, there is no way we can know that. First have Israel renounce administrative detention and give everyone arrested the right to legal recourse - then we will listen to you.
That Israel can not exile anyone from either the Gaza Strip or the West Bank. Article 49 of Geneva Convention IV prohibits it for any reason, and for any purpose.
"Norway will eventiully pay for the goodness of they hart they give to Muslims,after all they like to rape the blond Norvegian Girls." - Michelle of Sydney Sounds like a plot for a Wagnerian Opera. Is it racism or Islamophobia?
Operation Summer Rains - 2006 - Over 400 dead Operation Cast Lead 2008-9 - Over 1500 claimed dead (not all rubble cleared yet).
What the H are you getting to??? If Israel went down, the world would be significantly reduced. Jews have created so much for mankind. If Gaza evaporated, nobody (nobody) would miss them. Not even you.
2000 killed in Gaza? I can see that you also included the Pal that Hamas killed and added to the list.Is this bul makes you feel better?Norway will eventiully pay for the goodness of they hart they give to Muslims,after all they like to rape the blond Norvegian Girls.They will pay heavy price for letting them in, just ask any other country that made this mistake.
... that got there by jaywalking, or spitting on the sidewalk. Perhaps you all think they were just randomly snatched off the street as hostages. Good luck, Norway. You will need it.
good, take all of them and I hope they freeze to death !!!
"I`m sure plenty of Israeli/Diaspora Talkbackers here will still find a reason to complain.... "Gratitude" is not really (right-wing) Israels strength, is it...??? :)" (Swiss Dino) And just what is it that we ungrateful Jews should be grateful of? The fact that Norway has been in regular contact with representatives of the Hamas government in Gaza since its "victory" (read violent takeover) in the 2006 Palestinian elections? Or the fact that Norway "may take some" of the 1,000 Palestinian criminals that 'ungrateful' Israel will release in return for 1 innocent Israeli soldier? It really bothers you that Haaretz, AN ISRAELI NEWSPAPER, has the audacity to allow up to 20% of its talkback postings to be pro-Israel, doesn't it? How many Arab-bashing posts does Al-Jazeera allow? (Hint: NONE) You never tire of being labeled an anti-semite in this forum, do you? Perhaps that's because, in fact, you wear that label with pride...??:) Neutrality is not your strong point, is it..?:)
?In its quest to get back a POW, Israel has killed over 2000 Gazans?MH Shame on you Mark for repeating lies. According to PCHR (Palestinian Center for Human Rights), some the total of 1,434 Palestinians were killed in Israel?s invasion of the Gaza Strip; these included 235 combatants, 239 police officers, and 960 civilians. Of the latter, 121 were women and 288 were children (defined as anyone under 18 years old). Israel did not invade Gaza to get a POW back but as a defensive measure to neutralize 8 years of continued and indiscriminate rocket attacks on Sderot and Ashquelon.
It is nice to believe in humanity when your life in not in danger. And when you do not have to fight a war for 200 years as such is case with Norway it is very easy to judge others and believe in giving peace a chance instead of trying to defend your homeland and recommend moral equivalency concepts Norway-style. As far as history goes I think Norway tried the non-violent route with the Nazis during the WWII attempting to plead neutrality but was occupied anyway. You would have still remained occupied if it were not for the liberating ally forces. My remarks in the earlier post were not against average Norwegians whom I respect as good-natured and fair-minded people but to simply point out that this mentality will get your country in big trouble in the future because you no longer can differentiate between good and evil. Offering to take terror prisoners from an Israeli jail is a good example. You believe you are doing a humanitarian deed. In fact, you are doing the exact opposite as these people are in jail for a very good reason, that is, to kill Jews and they are full of rage and hate. Good luck ? you are going to need it.
I hope you won't regret that move....
Do our enemies (e.g. Hamas) adhere to Geneva convention? How many times Gilad Shalit was visited by the Red Cross? What kind of military uniform do Hamas soldiers wear? Please note that unconventional militia, hiding behind civilians is not subject to any Geneva convention. Now, whose fault was it that the Palestinians got killed? I heard they were shooting rockets at Israeli civilians in Sderot and other areas. Is it also adherence to Geneva convention on the part of Hamas or it's a war crime to target civilians?
i would rather die a 1000 times then to see 1000 terrorists set free for me. I would think of my parents and the hell that my captivity is putting them through... And then i would think of the ten of thousands of parents and the victims relatives who have to live each day and the only solice they have is the knowelege that the evil doers who killed thier loved ones are behind bars... I would say let me be a human sacrifice so that these men stay behind bars... israel should think more then twice before releaseing these so called freedom fighters... I am 24, 1 year older then Shalit... the needs of the one does not outweigh the needs of the many!
Thanks for setting the record straight! Keep it coming. People on this board have a very selective sense of which partys of history that should be included in the determination of what is right and what is wrong. But then again, what to expect from people who obviously think that some peoples should have more basic rights than others.
We prefer to call it a humanitarian deed, and it's based on our belief in humanity (human rights, the refugee conventions etc.). Maybe we are naive, but at least we don't behave like beasts. Maybe we would have acted differently if we were in your place, but that's just too hypothetical. Some people(s) don't learn from history - not even their own... That's a tragedy.
"In its quest to get back a POW, Israel has killed over 2000 Gazans." In the month that followed Shalit's kidnapping "more than 100 Gazans were killed". Last December's invasion of Gaza was launched in order to stop rockets from being fired at Israel. That being said, I hope to go back to Acadia in a month.
In its quest to get back a POW, Israel has killed over 2000 Gazans. Israel says militants, Gaza says civilians. Israel has also rendered tens of thousands homeless who now live in tents or mud-brick hovels. And you guys can't understand Hamas intransigence in their demands for Israel to trade some prisoners and for Israel to adhere to a Geneva convention on prisoners that Israel voluntarily signed.
....for Israel. I'm sure plenty of Israeli/Diaspora Talkbackers here will still find a reason to complain.... "Gratitude" is not really (right-wing) Israels strength, is it...??? :)
My bet is that Norway government could not care less about Shalit and his plight but they are really concerned for the jailed Palestinians and want to do their part in undoing the wrong visited upon them by the cruel Israelis. After all, they will be getting an "excellent" group of immigrants to resettle and integrate that will surely enrich the society. And the last but not the least, the fledgling Islamist component of the North needs a healthy influx of new blood. Why not take the best of what is available ? Serves them right.
people by comparison to the value Israel does on its people? Don't the Arabs consider the life of a single Arab worth freeing in exchange of the freeing of a single abducted Israeli person?
That means Oslo will just be a one or two day layover as the islmaonazis return to hamasstan to engage in more murder
Why on earth would Norway want Islamic terrorists walking free on its streets? Probably because they'll be back through a tunnel to Gaza before long
Why, pray, do we Scandinavians - and Europeans in general - always have to suffer in cases like this?! We are no more interested in having convicted terrorists lose in our streets than Israelis are!!! Why can't they be sent to a Arab country, sympathetic to their cause; Libya or Yemen spring to mind...