Hamas'
deputy politburo chief Moussa Abu Marzouk denies receiving
a videotape showing kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit during
his recent visit
to the Gaza Strip. Shalit is being held captive by Hamas' military wing.
In an interview to the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat, Abu Marzouk said he had arrived in the Strip in order to meet his family members and did not meet with any leaders from the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing.
| Captive Soldier |
|
| Ron Arad's family: Bring Shalit back now / Ronen Medzini |
|
'Speaking from 23 years of experience, regime changes are always problematic,' missing navigator's daughter says at protest tent set up my captive soldier's parents in Jerusalem. Barak confronted by dozens chanting 'we want him home; we want him now' |
| Full story |
|
|
|
Abu Mazouk also denied receiving a letter written by Shalit. "I have no information about him and I don’t know if he's alive or dead. The factions holding him know his fate, and they won't provide any information about him without a price.
"The prisoner exchange issue is in Cairo's hands and there is nothing new on this matter, even if Israel
is sending other mediators to us," he said.
According to the Hamas leader, Israel is using other channels as well in a bid to secure Shalit's release.
"Israel is sending English mediators and then German, French, Russian and Arab mediators… But we stress that this issue is in Cairo's hands and that we won't release Shalit unless all the 450 prisoners were demand are freed, in addition to 550 others, including minors, women, ministers and parliament members."
Despite Abu Marzouk's denial, a knowledgeable Hamas source told the London-based Arabic-language al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper that the people negotiating a prisoner exchange with Israel do have a videotape showing Shalit.
According to the report, Israel demanded the tape in a bid to ensure that the captive was in good condition in order to finalize the deal for his release.
The source told the paper that the tape was handed over to Abu Marzouk during his visit to Gaza. He added that it proves Shalit is in good condition and that Egypt recently increased its efforts to finalize the deal. The al-Hayat newspaper also reported that Cairo had renewed its efforts.
Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jarida reported Monday that Abu Marzouk had received the tape from Ahmad Jabari, the military wing's commander in Gaza.
Source close to Hamas told the newspaper that the organization had no plans to give out the tape, which proves Shalit is in good health, "unless real and serious progress is made and concessions are made by Israel, and it goes back on its insistence in terms of the prisoner exchange deal."
According to the sources, Abu Mrazouk informed senior Egyptian officials of the videotape, but did not turn it over to them.
The same newspaper reported about a week ago that Abu Marzouk had also been handed a letter written by the kidnapped soldier. The sources told the paper that the letter was delivered to the Syrian Foreign Ministry and that Abu Marzouk chose to keep the tape.
The sources added that "Hamas is interested in using the tape as a strong bargaining chip at the end of the process, in order to prove its seriousness in wanting to end the matter."
Shalit's parents, Noam and Aviva, will be spending their third day Tuesday in a protest tent
set up outside the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem. The family members have been invited for lunch by President Shimon Peres,
and the prime minister's wife, Aliza Olmert, has invited them to visit the residence at around 5 pm.
Noam Shalit said Monday evening that he did not know what he would say to the prime minister's wife. "She's the one who invited us, so we'll just listen to everything she has to say."
RSS
