Shalit's release still outlying four years after captivity
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Emad Drimly, Saud Abu Ramadan
It has been already four years for abducting the Israeli corporal Gilad Shalit during a cross-border raid in southeast Gaza Strip in June 25, 2006 by militants of the Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the enclave, while finalizing a prisoners' swap deal with Israel is still pending.
Palestinian observers believe that regional and international circumstances obstruct finalizing a prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel, which is still hesitant to release dozens of Palestinian prisoners for freeing its soldier.
Since Hamas militants and two other minor militant groups kidnapped Shalit, Hamas has been demanding Israel to release 1,000 prisoners, including 450 of life sentences in Israeli prisons. Israel rejects to release them, claiming that they have "Jewish blood" on their hands.
Indirect talks to free Shalit suspended
Osama al-Muzeini, a Hamas official in charge of speaking to the media about Shalit's case, told Xinhua that his movement still rejects under any circumstances to make concession over its demands for freeing Shalit, adding that Israel "is responsible for obstructing the deal."
"The indirect negotiations to finalize the prisoner swap deal had witnessed a tangible progress and we were closed to reach an agreement at the beginning of this year, but the Israeli government retreated and insisted on its conditions which kept the deal in a standstill," said al-Muzeini.
Although he reiterated that the deal is "frozen", he revealed that there are foreign efforts "from time to time to discuss reviving the indirect talks and reach a compromise that finalizes the prisoner swap deal." Israel insists to link the blockade on Gaza with Shalit.
Hawkish Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier stated that Israel "always looks for other means to bring Shalit safe and sound." He insisted on the Israeli conditions that Israel won't release prisoners that would renew their military actions against the Jewish state.
Hamas, Israel trade accusations
Netanyahu claimed that until now Hamas has not responded to the German mediator's proposal to release 450 prisoners and another 500 ones as a goodwill gesture to Egypt and to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas insists on its conditions that all the prisoners with life sentences must be released.
Shalit was abducted on June 25, 2006, when Hamas and two militant groups carried out a distinctive attack on an Israeli army base near the border between southeast Gaza Strip and Israel. Two Israeli army officers were killed, as well as six militants, where Shalit was taken from inside his tank.
Israel officially applied to Egypt to mediate talks with Hamas to free Shalit, but the talks were obstructed several times, until Germany decided to officially join the mediation. However, Germany 's intervention didn't end up with an agreement to release 1,000 prisoners as Hamas wanted for freeing Shalit.
Mekhemer Abu Se'da, the political science professor at the Gaza- based al-Azhar University told Xinhua that Israel still believes that the price, which Hamas has demanded "is very expensive for freeing Shalit, adding that Israel still reluctant "to pay this high price for getting Shalit alive to his family."
"There are other reasons that obstruct finalizing the deal ... Hamas' success in finalizing the deal would boost its position, the thing which many countries in the world don't want," said Abu Se'da.
He also referred to the standstill talks to achieve a reconciliation treaty between Hamas and its bitter rival Fatah party of President Abbas, adding that "this issue also obstructs finalizing a prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel. I believe that issue of reconciliation and the issue of Shalit are linked."
Israel and Hamas has been trading accusations that each side is creating excuses to obstruct the talks in order to reach a deal.
Hamas conditions wouldn't change
Mustafa al-Sawaf, a pro-Hamas analyst based in Gaza, said that Hamas demands for freeing Shalit "are realistic and are not impossible," adding that "Israel always follows that game of postponement and delay in order to win more time and try to pressure on the other side in order to lower its demands."
"Israel is thinking that it can free Shalit without paying any price, where it still considers the military action to free him. I believe that all these games are useless and a waste of time, the only way to free Shalit is to positively response to the demands of Shalit's captors," said al-Sawaf.
Hamas, which showed Shalit sound and alive while reading a pro- Hamas newspaper last September, still refuses to let representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit him in his captivity, in fear that Israel would locate the place and free him by force. — Xinhua
It has been already four years for abducting the Israeli corporal Gilad Shalit during a cross-border raid in southeast Gaza Strip in June 25, 2006 by militants of the Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the enclave, while finalizing a prisoners' swap deal with Israel is still pending.
Palestinian observers believe that regional and international circumstances obstruct finalizing a prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel, which is still hesitant to release dozens of Palestinian prisoners for freeing its soldier.
Since Hamas militants and two other minor militant groups kidnapped Shalit, Hamas has been demanding Israel to release 1,000 prisoners, including 450 of life sentences in Israeli prisons. Israel rejects to release them, claiming that they have "Jewish blood" on their hands.
Indirect talks to free Shalit suspended
Osama al-Muzeini, a Hamas official in charge of speaking to the media about Shalit's case, told Xinhua that his movement still rejects under any circumstances to make concession over its demands for freeing Shalit, adding that Israel "is responsible for obstructing the deal."
"The indirect negotiations to finalize the prisoner swap deal had witnessed a tangible progress and we were closed to reach an agreement at the beginning of this year, but the Israeli government retreated and insisted on its conditions which kept the deal in a standstill," said al-Muzeini.
Although he reiterated that the deal is "frozen", he revealed that there are foreign efforts "from time to time to discuss reviving the indirect talks and reach a compromise that finalizes the prisoner swap deal." Israel insists to link the blockade on Gaza with Shalit.
Hawkish Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier stated that Israel "always looks for other means to bring Shalit safe and sound." He insisted on the Israeli conditions that Israel won't release prisoners that would renew their military actions against the Jewish state.
Hamas, Israel trade accusations
Netanyahu claimed that until now Hamas has not responded to the German mediator's proposal to release 450 prisoners and another 500 ones as a goodwill gesture to Egypt and to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas insists on its conditions that all the prisoners with life sentences must be released.
Shalit was abducted on June 25, 2006, when Hamas and two militant groups carried out a distinctive attack on an Israeli army base near the border between southeast Gaza Strip and Israel. Two Israeli army officers were killed, as well as six militants, where Shalit was taken from inside his tank.
Israel officially applied to Egypt to mediate talks with Hamas to free Shalit, but the talks were obstructed several times, until Germany decided to officially join the mediation. However, Germany 's intervention didn't end up with an agreement to release 1,000 prisoners as Hamas wanted for freeing Shalit.
Mekhemer Abu Se'da, the political science professor at the Gaza- based al-Azhar University told Xinhua that Israel still believes that the price, which Hamas has demanded "is very expensive for freeing Shalit, adding that Israel still reluctant "to pay this high price for getting Shalit alive to his family."
"There are other reasons that obstruct finalizing the deal ... Hamas' success in finalizing the deal would boost its position, the thing which many countries in the world don't want," said Abu Se'da.
He also referred to the standstill talks to achieve a reconciliation treaty between Hamas and its bitter rival Fatah party of President Abbas, adding that "this issue also obstructs finalizing a prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel. I believe that issue of reconciliation and the issue of Shalit are linked."
Israel and Hamas has been trading accusations that each side is creating excuses to obstruct the talks in order to reach a deal.
Hamas conditions wouldn't change
Mustafa al-Sawaf, a pro-Hamas analyst based in Gaza, said that Hamas demands for freeing Shalit "are realistic and are not impossible," adding that "Israel always follows that game of postponement and delay in order to win more time and try to pressure on the other side in order to lower its demands."
"Israel is thinking that it can free Shalit without paying any price, where it still considers the military action to free him. I believe that all these games are useless and a waste of time, the only way to free Shalit is to positively response to the demands of Shalit's captors," said al-Sawaf.
Hamas, which showed Shalit sound and alive while reading a pro- Hamas newspaper last September, still refuses to let representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit him in his captivity, in fear that Israel would locate the place and free him by force. — Xinhua