Gilad Shalit
Reproduction photo
Hamas official: We'll keep Gilad Shalit alive
Members of Hamas' political bureau says movement determined to keep kidnapped IDF soldier alive 'so that he can be traded for the greatest number of prisoners'
Hamas
is determined to keep Gilad Shalit
alive, a member of the movement's political bureau said Thursday in an interview from Damascus with the Israeli Arab Nazareth-based newspaper al-Sinara.
"I believe that the Hamas movement is determined to keep Gilad Shalit alive in order to trade him with the greatest number possible of Palestinian prisoners.
According to the man, Muhammad Nazzal, Shalit will only be freed if Hamas' demands are accepted.
Sympathy
Associated Press
Noam Shalit sends 'personal letter of condolence' to Hamas strongman Mahmoud al-Zahar following his son's death this week while Hamas reiterates it is treating Shalit's captive son humanely
"We did not capture him in order to kill him or give him away without a price. Shalit will remain in captivity and won't be freed, unless Israel accepts the demands presented by the Hamas movement," he said.
Asked about the current situation in the negotiations with Israel on the kidnapped soldier, he replied, "The negotiations were stopped when the recent aggression began and ceased the talks between us and Israel through the mediator."
Nazzal was also asked what would be Shalit's fate if Israel decided to re-conquer the Gaza Strip.
"We believe that the Israelis will not re-conquer the Gaza Strip directly, as they understand that occupying the Gaza Strip will be no fieldtrip. They will suffer great losses. I don’t think they left the Gaza Strip during (former Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon's time in order to return.
"They left and will never return to the Strip, but if they do decide to return once again, the resistance factions will be waiting for them and Gaza will turn into a new cemetery for the Zionist invaders, just like southern Lebanon was a cemetery for them in July 2006."
'Rafah events a natural response'
Nazzal was also asked to address the recent developments in the Gaza Strip and the entry of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into Egypt through the Rafah crossing."What happened in Rafah is a popular response," he replied calmly. "When the Palestinian people are subject to destruction activities through starvation and the prevention of medicines, food, water and electricity, their desire to live becomes necessary, and this is what led the Palestinian people.
"This is why the Strip's residents were forced to walk to their neighbors and brothers in Egypt in order to buy the basic food commodities which are critical for them. I see this as a popular and natural response and it cannot be viewed in any other way, apart from the humanitarian aspect."
