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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Hamas's plan to free prisoners has backfired |
| 2014-06-20 |
| [IsraelTimes] Hamas’s attempt to release prisoners from Israeli detention by means of the kidnapping of three yeshiva students has backfired, the head of the IDF’s Central Command, Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, said Thursday, pointing out that the group had suffered many new arrests following the abduction. In a letter penned to troops involved in Operation Brother’s Keeper, Alon, who is in charge of IDF forces in the West Bank, explained that the wave of arrests of Hamas members — 50 of whom had been released as part of the prisoner swap for the return of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011 — undermined the terror group’s original aim. “The arrest of 50 terrorists freed as part of the Shalit deal by our forces will delay their return for many years. Thus, Hamas’s attempt to release prisoners brought about the opposite result,” he wrote. A statement from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s office on Thursday condemned the arrest of the former prisoners, saying it “constitutes a gross violation of the [Shalit] release agreement.” Among the 50 convicts freed in 2011 and rearrested Wednesday overnight, four were in the midst of serving double life sentences; 13 had been serving life sentences; 19 had been sentenced to over 20 years; and five had been slapped with sentences of up to 20 years. The convictions included murder, manslaughter, producing weapons, maintaining contact with the enemy, and shooting attacks. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #2 The IDF didn't say no tag backs. |
| Posted by: Squinty 2014-06-20 13:31 |
| #1 A statement from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's office on Thursday condemned the arrest of the former prisoners, saying it "constitutes a gross violation of the [Shalit] release agreement." Gross violation of what? |
| Posted by: gorb 2014-06-20 01:29 |