Still in Gaza: Abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is still in the Gaza Strip, Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal said in an interview with Egyptian Weekly al-Aharam al-Arabi published Saturday.
In the interview, Mashaal claimed he did not order the abduction and admitted Hamas members were unable to smuggle Shalit out of the Strip, dispelling rumors to the contrary.
According to the rumors, Shalit was taken out of Gaza and Mashaal was set to announce he was handed over to Hizbullah in order to facilitate a comprehensive prisoner swap involving the two IDF troops kidnapped by the Lebanese group recently.
"You certainly know how difficult conditions are in the Territories, and what kind of siege is faced by Gaza," Mashaal said. "How can the fighters smuggle the soldier…? Those rumors are baseless."
However, Mashaal stressed that the Palestinian people had the "right…to exchange the soldier, which was captured in a military campaign."
"He is a prisoner of war and therefore we must exchange him – this is the Palestinian people's right," the Hamas leader said.
When asked whether he gave the order to kidnap Shalit, as Israel claimed, Mashaal replied: "Everyone should know that when Israel is
unable to act, it turns its crises to the outside and spreads rumors in order to mitigate its failures."
"We in Hamas have a defined work methodology," he said. "We have a military wing and a political wing, and each arm acts in an orderly manner with its institutions. Our fighters in the field do not need directions; they know their duty and how much we believe in them. They fulfill their duty without this requiring orders from here or from there."
The Hamas leader also said ties between his group and Egypt remain good, despite Shalit's abduction.
"There's no tension between us," he said. "Contacts with the Egyptian leadership never ceased, and we're working on facilitating good ties with all Arab and Islamic countries."
During the Interview, Mashaal also denied that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian factions headed by PM Ismail Haniyeh reached an understanding on a cease-fire with Israel.
"There were indeed discussions among Palestinian factions and we attempted to reach a hudna (truce,) but there are still no results on this matter," he said. "We must defend ourselves and respond to Israel's belligerence. It's illogical for us to continue talking about a calm while facing Zionist aggression."
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