 PARIS - A captured Israeli soldier held by militants in Gaza will be released soon, ineffectual Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a television interview on Friday. “We are undertaking efforts to free Shalit and these efforts will soon come to fruition,” Abbas told France 24 television of Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was seized last June in a cross-border raid from Gaza into southern Israel. “We are optimistic. He will be freed soon,” Abbas said in comments due to be broadcast at 1710 GMT.
However, he gave no specifics and previous comments by him about Shalit have not resulted in the soldierÂ’s release. Abbas said there were also 9,500 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel who should be released too, although he said the two issues were not related. |