E-MAIL THIS LINK
To: 

Hamas demands prisoners for Shalit
Kidnapped IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who is being held in the Gaza Strip, will be released only if Israel agrees to free thousands of Palestinian prisoners, a senior Hamas official announced on Tuesday. The announcement came as Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas held a closed meeting in Gaza City with PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and urged him to release Shalit immediately. The two also discussed the possibility of establishing a national unity government.

“To all those who are exerting pressure on us, we say: Enough! No Palestinian will ever agree to the release of the Israeli soldier without getting anything in return.”
Abbas, who arrived in the Gaza Strip on Monday, called on Hamas to release Shalit in return for promises that Israel would free Palestinian prisoners in the future. Abbas suggested that the soldier be handed over to the Egypt, which has been acting as a mediator ever since Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas last June. Egyptian mediators have been trying to persuade Hamas to soften its position, but to no avail. "Israel must pay a heavy price for its soldier," said Khalil al-Hayeh, head of Hamas's parliamentary list. "We have rejected demands to release the soldier in return for promises that Israel would release our prisoners sometime in the future."

Hayeh said Hamas was "disturbed" by pressure on the kidnappers to release Shalit unconditionally: "To all those who are exerting pressure on us, we say: Enough!" No Palestinian will ever agree to the release of the Israeli soldier without getting anything in return. They know what our conditions are and I don't think that they are hard to fulfill."
Posted by: Fred 2006-08-16
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=163041