Hamas source says Noam Shalit should be criticizing Israeli government
Photo: Dudi Vaaknin
Hamas: Shalit may be held in Strip forever
Hamas source: Shalit may remain in captivity forever should Israel fail to meet our demands
Abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit could remain in captivity "forever" should Israel fail to comply with Hamas' demands, a source in the group told Ynet Wednesday evening.
"We understand Noam Shalit's pain, but first and foremost we understand the pain of more than 11,000 Palestinian families whose sons are jailed in Israel," the source said. "I understand the father's emotional distress and his frustration with the Israeli government. After all, he said…that he holds his own government responsible for the failure of the contacts (to free Gilad.)"
Earlier in the day, Gilad's father Noam Shalit charged that Hamas' failure to finalize a prisoner swap keeps thousands of Palestinians in Israeli jails. However, the Hamas source rejected the claims, saying the soldier's father should "direct his pain and his messages to his own government, rather than to us."
Gilad Shalit
'Hamas' insistence on very specific list of prisoners it wants freed preventing release of hundreds of Palestinians,' Noam Shalit says ion op-ed published in east Jerusalem daily, adding, 'My son's kidnapping brought about siege, poverty in Gaza
"Hamas is exercising its moral and historical responsibility to the Palestinian people and to the prisoners' families," the Hamas source added. "Despite the ridiculous comments uttered by Israeli leaders regarding their ability to reach the captive in the Strip, I'm telling Noam Shalit - your son will remain forever in the Strip should your government fail to comply with our demands. The ball is in Israel's court and for long months now we've been waiting for a response to our demands, which have not changed."
Meanwhile, Israel has continued to release senior Hams figures from prison. After freeing the former Hamas finance minister and a female parliament member earlier, another former Hamas minister, Issa al-Jabari, is also expected to be released by Thursday. In addition, the mayor of Nablus, who is affiliated with Hamas, has been released.
At this time it is unclear whether the decision to release the detainees is related to the negotiations on a possible Shalit deal, but Palestinian Authority officials estimated that the move could improve the atmosphere in the talks.
