Corporal Gilad Shalit was kidnapped near Kerem Shalom on the Gaza border. His abduction by Palestinian militant groups during that June 25 raid on an Israeli army outpost led Israel to launch a massive military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
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Corporal Gilad Shalit was kidnapped near Kerem Shalom on the Gaza border. His abduction by Palestinian militant groups during that June 25 raid on an Israeli army outpost led Israel to launch a massive military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
A senior Hamas official says the group will respond by next week to Israel's latest counteroffer on swapping Palestinian prisoners for a captured Israeli soldier. The Damascus-based official, Moussa Abu Marzouk, says the militant group is currently studying Israel's offer and will deliver its answer "next week at the latest." Abu Marzouk, deputy head of Hamas' politburo, spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday. A German mediator on Wednesday gave Hamas in Gaza the Israel counteroffer in... Read Full Story
The parents of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit made an impassioned appeal on Sunday for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal with his captors, saying time was running out. "We believe that the next few days are fateful for our beloved son Gilad," his parents, Noam and Aviva Shalit, wrote in a letter to Netanyahu. "We watch the actions of the government of Israel with deep trepidation and great hope," they said. The appeal comes amid mounting speculation that a deal may be... Read Full Story
GAZA, Dec. 25 (UPI) --
The Hamas leadership in Damascus reportedly has rejected Israel's demand it exile certain prisoners in an exchange for abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
The group's leadership in the Gaza Strip, however, is willing to accept Israel's proposal, the Haartez news service said Friday.
A Palestinian source close to the negotiations said Israel's release of 450 Palestinian prisoners would be carried out within a day. Following that Shalit would be transferred to... Read Full Story
DPA Tel Aviv, Dec 25 (DPA) An overwhelming majority of Israelis support releasing and deporting hundreds of jailed 'heavyweight' Palestinian militants in exchange for an Israeli soldier held in the Gaza Strip for more than three years, a poll published Friday revealed. The survey also found that a majority think Gilad Shalit, snatched June 25, 2006 during a cross-border raid launched from the Gaza Strip, will be released soon. Hamas, which is holding Shalit, is demanding Israel release around... Read Full Story
The Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip on Friday began celebrations marking the Islamist movement's 22nd anniversary with parades and the unveiling of a huge mural depicting rockets targeting Israel. Hundreds of people riding camels, horses and motorcycles took part in processions from the north and the east of the besieged Palestinian territory to converge on the house of Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya. In the centre of the coastal strip, thousands of people took part in a pro-Hamas march... Read Full Story
The Islamist Hamas movement said on Monday that an Israeli soldier held in Gaza for more than three years will not see "the light of day" until Israel releases hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. "The Zionist soldier will not see the light of day unless the occupation responds to the demands of the resistance and frees our courageous prisoners," the group said in a statement marking the 22nd anniversary of its founding. In recent weeks Israel and Hamas have appeared to be edging closer to an... Read Full Story
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said on Wednesday a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas was still stuck on the question of which prisoners Hamas wants in exchange for a captured Israeli soldier. Abbas is not a party to the German mediated negotiations between the Islamist rulers of Gaza and Israel, which would see the release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the soldier, Gilad Shalit. "We as the Palestinian Authority are not a party in the negotiations for an exchange... Read Full Story
(IsraelNN.com) A group of people who have lost siblings to “ Palestinian Terrorists ” or in war have written to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu – who himself similarly lost a brother – asking him not to release 1,000 terrorists in exchange for abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. One of the bereaved siblings, Bentzi Ben-Shoham, whose sister Limor was murdered along with 10 others in the March 2002 attack at Café Moment in Jerusalem, spoke with Arutz-7’s Hebrew news magazine about the... Read Full Story
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit accused Israel on Sunday of stalling on a prisoner swap with Hamas for a captured Israeli soldier by refusing to free certain Palestinian prisoners. "Israel is still placing obstacles toward releasing all those demanded by the Palestinians," said Abul Gheit, according to a statement released by the foreign ministry. "We hope that the Israeli side, which decided to achieve this exchange, will go through with it and not place further obstacles," he... Read Full Story
A team of French doctors have performed medical check-ups on captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in the Gaza Strip, the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reported on Sunday. An Egyptian security official confirmed to AFP that three French doctors went into the Gaza Strip through the Egyptian border crossing of Rafah last week, but that there was no indication that they were there to see Shalit. "They went in to perform operations in Gaza. This is a very standard thing. Foreign medics provide medical... Read Full Story
