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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Barak: Invasion of Gaza would render Shalit talks impossible |
| 2008-08-15 |
| The cease-fire deal with Hamas along the Gaza Strip border has created conditions that facilitate the talks to free abducted soldier Gilad Shalit, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday. "Had we been involved in a large scale operation in Gaza today there would be no chance of negotiating over Shalit," Barak said on a visit to communities on the Gazan border. "The negotiations... are taking longer than they should. We will have to make difficult decisions to bring Shalit home, but we have a moral and ideological commitment to do so," he said. Barak told reporters that Israel must be prepared for the possibility that the ceasefire would collapse, leading to a deterioration that could last days or weeks. He promised to continue pushing for fortifying structures in the southern communities from future rocket and artillery fire. "We stand with you in your struggle with the government. It is the state's duty to take care of the fortification," Barak said. The border communities recently petitioned the High Court of Justice, demanding that the government fortify their buildings and allocate the appropriate funds to do so. Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, who accompanied Barak, assured the communities' heads of the ministry's continued efforts. "By hook or by crook we'll reach the second stage of the fortification plan... despite the prime minister's opposition," he said. The ministry has spent about NIS 1 billion on fortifications for the southern communities, Vilnai said. The rest of the plan is "stuck" for lack of funds, he added. "The entire state is under threat, both in the north and south. We aim to fortify wherever necessary," Barak said. "I believe the government should provide this fortification, as it did in the north for years." The head of the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council, Alon Schuster, expressed his disappointment after Barak and Vilnai's visit, saying that neither had an answer for the residents' plight. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 I am sure the tortured Shalit to death years ago.. What's the deal. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-08-15 17:06 |
| #1 They're already impossible. The only thing that would be "rendered" would be the deniability of that impossibility. |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-08-15 03:29 |