Hamas says Shalit won't be part of any truce deal

Islamist group leader al-Zahar says it won't offer kidnapped IDF soldier 'for free' and that his release is not related to Egypt-brokered truce talks
Associated Press

Gaza's Hamas rulers said Tuesday that captured Israeli soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit will not be included in any truce deal with Israel.

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Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has told Egyptian mediator Omar Suleiman that Shalit must be released as part of any ceasefire. The Egyptian intelligence chief heard similar demands from Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

Olmert said during his meeting with Suleiman in Jerusalem Monday, that "advancing Gilad Shalit's release is part of the agreement in the Gaza Strip," while Livni told the mediator that "Hamas is responsible for Shalit's well-being as long as it controls Gaza."

Suleiman said before his meeting with Olmert that he had "high expectations" that the outline of a truce between Israel, Hamas and the armed organizations in Gaza would be implemented.

Hamas-affiliated militants captured Shalit in an attack on an army base in 2006. Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar said Tuesday that the militant group would not "offer Shalit for free" and that his release is not related to truce talks.

The Israeli soldier's father, Noam Shalit, said in response to al-Zahar's statement that “he is either playing innocent or being pretentious. No one has ever asked to release Gilad for free. Israel is wiling to free 450 prisoners, including those with blood on their hands, and we all know that.”