Palestinians want prisoners to come home
Photo: AFP
Will they be released soon?
Photo: Hagai Aharon
'Release all prisoners or else’
Thousands of Hamas supporters demonstrate in Gaza, senior group member threatens to kidnap soldiers if Israel fails to release all prisoners
GAZA - The Hamas is set to kidnap Israeli soldiers if Israel fails to release all Palestinian prisoners, a senior group member told thousands of supporters at a Gaza rally Friday.
Prime Minister Sharon should watch over his troops, Fathi Hamad said, and added Hamas cells are already in place and ready to act if a “just, fair solution” to the prisoner question is not achieved.
“Israel attempts to deceive and cheat the Palestinians when it comes to the prisoner question,’” he said. “We won’t hesitate to kidnap soldiers…we have proven in the past that we can get to Israeli troops.”
The Gaza pullout proves Israel only acts when pressed, Hamad said, and added more pressure is apparently needed to resolve the prisoner issue, too.
Earlier this week, Israel released 500 Palestinian prisoners, most of them members of the Fatah movement.
Speaker slams ‘Israel’s aggression’
There is nothing stopping the Hamas from forcing Israel to release prisoners in the framework of a prisoner exchange, Hamad said.
“Israel’s aggression and refusal to resolve the prisoner question prevent the current calm from turning into a genuine, lengthy cease-fire,” he said.
The remarks come a few days before the renewal of intra-Palestinian dialogue in an effort to agree on a truce.
Talks were expected to take place in Cairo next week, but would likely be postponed by several days.
Despite the current lull in fighting, senior Hamas figures have said Palestinian violence has not been cast aside and would again become a central tool in the struggle against Israel, as long as all Palestinian rights are not reinstated.
