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Israel Threatening Military Action if Soldier Not Returned Safely
Israel massed troops Monday along the Gaza Strip border in preparation for what Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said would be a "broad and ongoing" operation against Palestinian militants following the abduction of an Israeli soldier.Olmert issued the threat as Israeli and Palestinian officials furiously worked diplomatic channels to gain the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, a dual French-Israeli citizen who was seized in a cross-border raid on Sunday. Speaking to a tourism conference in Jerusalem, Olmert said Israel's patience was wearing thin and that he held the entire Palestinian leadership responsible for Shalit's safety. "I gave the orders to our military commanders to prepare the army for a broad and ongoing military operation to strike the terrorist leaders and all those involved," he said. "It should be clear. There will be immunity for no one." Militants affiliated with the ruling Hamas party and tiny allied factions abducted Shalit early Sunday after tunneling into Israel and attacking a military post. Two other soldiers were killed, and three militants died in an ensuing shootout. The attack was the first successful infiltration by militants since Israel withdrew from Gaza in September and threatened to plunge the region into a major flare-up of violence. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was working intensely with Egyptian mediators to locate the soldier, officials said, while a spokesman for the rival Hamas-led Palestinian government said he had information Shalit was alive and urged his captors to keep him safe. Note how he didn't say to release him immediately. Can't do that.....that would be civilized. Despite Abbas' ongoing efforts to pressure his Hamas rivals into moderation, Olmert said he blamed the entire Palestinian leadership, including the president, responsible for the spiraling violence. "It should be clear that we see the Palestinian Authority on all its levels, from the chairman on downward, as the responsible element for this operation and all that happens from it," Olmert said, referring to Abbas. Palestinian lawmaker Saeb Erekat, a close aide to Abbas, called for restraint "at a time when President Abbas is exerting maximum efforts in order to acquire the release of the soldier, alive and unharmed." The tensions have raised the possibility that Israel could renew its policy of assassinating Hamas political leaders, a practice Israel halted after a February 2005 cease-fire. Hamas lawmaker Mushir al Masri warned Israel against any "stupid acts." "Yeah! We gots the monopoly on stupidity in these here parts!" The kidnapping delivered a blow to Abbas' efforts to coax Hamas into accepting a plan that implicitly recognizes Israel. Abbas, elected separately last year, has endorsed the plan in the hope of lifting crippling economic sanctions against Hamas and opening the way for new peace talks. Some Hamas political leaders privately complained that they were not warned ahead of time of the kidnapping plans. Note how they don't condemn the act, they are just pissed that they were not informed first. Charming people, no? A high-ranking military intelligence official, Yossi Beidatz, told a parliamentary committee Monday that Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas was in close contact with Hamas' Syria-based leader, Khaled Mashaal, and Shalit's captors to secure his immediate release, said lawmaker Ran Cohen. Shalit was the first Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants in 12 years, and the fate of the quiet, bespectacled teen gripped the country and its news outlets. Large pictures of Shalit's boyish face appeared on the front pages of local newspapers. "Free Gilad," said the banner headline of Yediot Ahronot, the country's largest daily. In Tel Aviv, the French Embassy confirmed the soldier holds French citizenship and said Paris was working to win his release. Shalit's family broke its silence on Monday to plead with his captors to treat him humanely and to remember he has a loving family who misses him dearly. Noam Shalit, in an interview with Associated Press Television, described his son as a quiet, helpful boy who followed his older brother into the military's armored corps. "The only thing we have left right now is hope, nothing more," he said. In Gaza City, dozens of relatives of the 8,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons urged militants to hold Shalit until Israel agrees to a large-scale release of jailed Palestinians. "Kidnap a soldiers and free 100 in return," the crowd said. "Twist the Zionists' hands. Hope they can learn." Israelis can learn. We're not sure about you, though..... Posted by: Swamp Blondie (formerly) Desert Blondie 2006-06-26 |
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