| Author | Message | | Edithann | | Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 5:23 pm Post subject: Israel stuck and they can't get out.. so they threaten more. |
| What else can Israel say?..They've boxed themselves in and they can't get out...so lets see..it's easier to destroy than to build..and they've just about destroyed everything except the PALESTINIAN SPIRIT to resist..They have met their match..and have been 'BESTED'!
TATA
HAARETZ
Last update - 18:48 03/07/2006
Israel rejects militants' ultimatum on prisoner exchange
Minister Ramon: IDF operations in Gaza will be 'far far worse' if Shalit harmed
By Aluf Benn, Avi Issacharoff and Amir Oren, Haaretz Correspondents, and News Agencies
Justice Minister Haim Ramon on Monday warned of a harsh military response in the Gaza Strip if an abducted Israeli is harmed by his Palestinian captors.
Justice Minister Haim Ramon made the threat after the militants holding Israel Defense Forces Corporal Gilad Shalit implied the soldier would be killed if Israel does not begin releasing Palestinian soldiers by Tuesday morning.
"If God forbid, they should hurt the soldier, our operations will be far far worse," Ramon told Channel 2 TV.
The bureau of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday that Israel rejected an ultimatum issued earlier in the day by Palestinian militants holding an Israel Defense Forces soldier, saying that Israel would not give in to blackmail.
The three militant groups behind the kidnap of Corporal Gilad Shalit said they were giving Israel until 6 A.M. Tuesday to agree to release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners or "pay the consequences."
A statement from the prime minister's bureau said that Israel would not bow to extortion by the Palestinian Authority or the Hamas government, which it accused of being guided by "murderous terrorist organizations."
"There will be no negotiations to release prisoners," the statement said. It added that Israel held the Palestinian Authority fully responsible for Shalit's well being, and his return safe and sound to Israel.
IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz also said in response to the ultimatum that Israel would not give in to extortion by the captors, and would continue to fight for Shalit's release.
The groups had said that if they did not hear from Israel by that time, they would consider Shalit's abduction a "closed case," but did not elaborate on the implications of the statement.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz warned Damascus that he held it responsible for Shalit's fate. Exiled Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal currently resides in the Syrian capital.
"I suggest that [Syrian President] Bashar Assad, who is trying to operate with his eyes shut tight, open his eyes, because he is responsible," Peretz cautioned.
Israel would "know how to reach everyone responsible" if Shalit is harmed, Peretz said.
"Military Communique 3," issued by the kidnappers Monday, said: "If the enemy does not agree to our humanitarian demands... we will regard this case as closed."
A spokesman for the Hamas government said the ultimatum was "a message to Israel that all its military escalation will not get it anywhere."
"If it continues every day to kill and target and attack, it won't get the soldier, alive or dead," spokesman Ghazi Hamad said. "That is the meaning of the message."
In their statement, Shalit's captors accused Israel of not "learning lessons" from the cases of other kidnapped soldiers.
The last IDF soldier kidnapped by Hamas, Nachshon Wachsman, was killed in 1994 during a rescue bid on his captors' Jerusalem hideout.
The groups - Hamas' military wing, the Popular Resistance Committees and the hitherto unknown Army of Islam -previously issued a demand for the release of 1,000 Palestinians jailed in Israel in exchange for Shalit's return.
The pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat reported Monday that an Egyptian negotiating team had visited Shalit in Gaza as part of an attempt to mediate a solution between Israel and the Palestinian militants holding him.
Citing what it called "informed Palestinian sources," the paper said the Egyptians found Shalit was being treated by a Palestinian doctor for "three bullet wounds." The paper did not say when the visit took place. Egyptian government officials were not available early Monday to comment on the report.
'Non-terrorist' prisoners only
The defense establishment is prepared to release Palestinian prisoners who have not been convicted of hostile terror activity, if a deal is reached with Hamas on the release of Shalit and bringing calm to the Gaza-Israel border.
The IDF said it would not support a deal that would release terrorists "with blood on their hands," but only those who have not been involved in planning or carrying out terror attacks. The army would be willing to release individuals who are being held under the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance, such as Hamas ministers and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, as well as security prisoners jailed for relatively minor offenses, such as belonging to terrorist organizations.
The number of prisoners released is less important to the IDF than the type of prisoners, and there are no plans to repeat the actions of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who freed ordinary Palestinian criminals to fulfill his part of the Wye Accords.
Decisions on the type of prisoners whose release the IDF would support came up in security discussions held over the last few days, led by Defense Minister Amir Peretz and IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, in which defense officials have formulated a draft deal for the release of Shalit.
But military officials said they do not think the sides are close to reaching such a deal. Top IDF officials said the crisis over Shalit's abduction is liable to last "days, weeks, months and even years."
As of Sunday night, the most updated information available to security officials indicated that Shalit was alive and that his captors planned to keep him healthy as long as they don't think the army is planning a military operation to secure his release.
The conditions for such an operation are far from ready, according to senior military officials. They said the negotiations for his release will require a lot of patience. Such patience is also likely to characterize the IDF approach to ground operations in Gaza, which are not planned for the short term.
The IDF's draft deal is meant to show the Olmert government the limits of the Israeli concessions that the army considers tolerable. In the eyes of the IDF, more significant concessions to Shalit's captors and Hamas would encourage extremist Arab and Muslim groups and would critically damage the position of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Defense officials warned against ending the crisis in a way that would show Palestinians and others in the region that Hamas and extremist groups have succeeded where moderates like Abbas have failed.
The draft deal calls for a total halt to the firing of steep-trajectory weapons, whether by Hamas or other organizations; a halt to attacks on Israeli citizens and IDF troops, wherever they are located; and a ban on abductions. There were four abductions and attempted abductions over the last month, three of them in the West Bank.
In exchange for a Palestinian commitment to stop these activities, the deal calls for the IDF to stop operating in Gaza, while reserving the right of defense and the right to foil terror attacks. The IDF also wants a "sleep balance" between Sderot and Gaza: If the children of Sderot can't sleep due to fear of Qassam rockets, Israel will disrupt the sleep of Gaza children.
The IDF assessment is that Hamas leaders in Gaza recognize that their rule would be seriously threatened if an attack on the Negev leads to a harsh Israeli reprisal. The army also said that flying over the summer palace of Syrian President Bashar Assad undercut the position of Hamas lead Khaled Meshal in Damascus.
Senior IDF officials in charge of Gaza think Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh will choose to maintain power, at the cost of suspending terrorism. | |  | | | ©2002-2009 WarWithoutEnd.co.uk |
