Palestinian leaders urge Gaza militants to kidnap more IDF troops
Hamas says release of two Syrian Druze prisoners from Israeli prison last week was part of Shalit film deal.
By Avi Issacharoff Tags: Gilad Shalit Hamas Gaza Israel newsAt a gathering in Gaza Thursday, the heads of several Palestinian factions called on the armed wings of Palestinian organizations to kidnap additional Israeli soldiers as the only means of gaining the release of Palestinian prisoners. According to Hamas reports, the German mediator involved in the contacts between Israel and Hamas regarding Shalit has visited the Gaza Strip dozens of times in recent months.
Osama al-Muzaini, the Hamas point person on the Gilad Shalit case, said Thursday that the release of two Syrian Druze prisoners last week from an Israeli prison was part of the deal by which Israel received a video proving that Shalit is still alive. The footage of the captive soldier was made public early this month.
In an interview with the Hamas paper Ar-Risalah which will be published in full on Monday, Muzaini said he demanded through German and Egyptian intermediaries that the two Druze prisoners be released. The prisoners were set free last Thursday after being held for 23 years, four years before the end of their prison terms.
In the interview, Muzaini said the assessment that a deal on Shalit's release would be concluded by the end of the year is not accurate, explaining that such a deadline may or may not be met. He declined to provide further details on the negotiations.
Palestinian commentators note that recent tension between Hamas and Egypt over efforts to reconcile Hamas and Fatah could harm negotiations on the Shalit case as well. Egypt, it is pointed out, does not want Hamas to get the credit for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners responsible for violent acts in exchange for the Israeli soldier.
Why Facebook Connect?
Comment on Haaretz.com articles with your Facebook login, and share your thoughts on your own wall.
- Latest
- Most Viewed
- Most Rated
- Open all
Chris. Gilad Shalit was on the Israeli side of the green line when he was taken. That means the terrorists crossed the border into Israel when they attacked. This clearly defines kidnapping. Kalil. Please let me know when and where you will be driving home from work so I can hide behind a camel and through Molotov cocktails at your car. Then maybe you will understand why there are such restrictions.
Chris. Gilad Shalit was on the Israeli side of the green line when he was taken. That means the terrorists crossed the border into Israel when they attacked. This clearly defines kidnapping. Kalil. Please let me know when and where you will be driving home from work so I can hide behind a camel and through Molotov cocktails at your car. Then maybe you will understand why there are such restrictions.
Where is the statement from abbas condeming these statements? Abbas claims to be leader of the PALs so must be personally held responsible for any actions by the PALs no matter where they are. An attack from gaza should result in military response in both gaza and west bank. There is no safety for abbas in the west bank.
I'm generally against the death penalty, but it should be reintroduced for Pali Arab terrorists. For the safety of Israelis in the future, captial punishment is part of the solution.
If you are referring to palestinian civilians then you are barking up the wrong tree,so to speak. There are very few "civilians" in the population of palestinians. These people,who are wrongly characterized as benign,voted in hamas and hezbollah. They are just as complicit as those hoodlums that strap bombs on themselves or knife and kidnap Israeli civilians. Remember the thugs that tore apart two Israeli reservists?..they tore them limb from limb and then set them on fire..this is an example of palestinian civilians. They hide amongst the population that adores them and then wipe their hands off from the carnage and walk away as heroes and the world berates Israel. Quite a gimmick...but the world is always ready to condemn Israel...it's easy...it's liberating regardless of the fact that soon Europe will be facing the same enemy. If you think they will stop at Israel your head is in the tank with the rest of the pathetic europeans.
They seem to be good for nothing. Tell Hamas to release your soldier in good health before Shabbat or you will blow up the Gaza Hospital.
It's war and hence operations like Cast Lead.
give these nutters an inch, they take a mile. And the unhinged left feels sorry for them.
If a soldier on duty is taken prisoner by hostile forces, has he or she been captured, abducted, kidnapped, or what? Isn't the use of the term "kidnapping" an affront to the honor of the soldier, as though he/she were simply a helpless victim? Did the French Resistance in World War II, at a time when their country was at least partially occupied, "kidnap" German soldiers?
Both Netanyahu and Solana have said very recently the rules of war need to be changed. But they have not said precisely which rules need change and how they need change, nor, what is most important, in whose interest these changes would be. Hopefully any changes would be in the interests of civilians who, more and more, suffer in countless numbers, in many places, from armed conflict which they have not invited and in which they wish no involvement.
The terrorists have seen their demands met with the few female prisoners released, they know they can bend Israel so now more soldiers will be kidnapped.
The recidivism rates of terrorists released in hostage swaps alone make clear that hostages-for-terrorists swaps endanger Israeli citizens. And in light of the moral depravity of our intellectual and legal elites, it is clear that legislative action alone cannot remedy the current situation in which even the most monstrous terrorists can safely assume that they will one day be released. The public must involve itself in the issue. Commom sense at : http://xrl.us/kj6sj