Prisoners' families unyielding
Photo: AP
Gaza prisoners' families talk tough on Shalit deal
Relatives of Palestinians jailed in Israel to protest in Gaza Sunday, urge Hamas to stick to demands
Palestinian response to Shalit March: The parents of Palestinian prisoners will be holding a protest Sunday outside the home of senior Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Zahar, urging him to stick to the group's demands in the Shalit talks with Israel.
The families' initiative follows comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his recent speech. The PM said that he agreed to release 1,000 terrorists for captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, but will not agree to their return to Judea and Samaria or to the release of mass murderers.
Hamas already announced that it is willing to resume talks on a prisoner swap. However, the Palestinian detainees' families will hand over a letter to al-Zahar where they will urge Hamas to withstand the pressure exerted on it and not agree to a watered down deal with Israel.
"This move is a response to the Shalit family's march that plans to bring thousands of people to the home of the enemy's prime minister, in order to press him to secure Shalit's release," the families' announcement said. "The participants of our rally will demand that Hamas' leadership stick to its positions and work to release all the prisoners Hamas demands."
