Now this, I believe.
Israel has agreed to release 71 Palestinian prisoners “with blood on their hands” as part of a deal for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, a senior Hamas source told Ynet on Sunday.
These prisoners were included on the list of 300 Palestinian murderers Hamas has demanded that Israel release in the framework of a future prisoner exchange deal.
A senior official in Jerusalem said Israel is not giving out details on the ongoing negotiations, which are being conducted with Egyptian mediation.
According to the Hamas, Shalit was mentioned by the Israeli government during the talks on a possible ceasefire with Palestinian factions in Gaza only to “appease the Israeli public”.
“The Israelis are not really working to release him and are hoping that Hamas and the organizations that abducted him will give in and accept their terms, but this will not happen,” the source said. “If the current situation persists, Shalit will be our guest for many years to come.”
And if this is true, then Israel will once again prove that terrorism works. However, on the positive side, Hamas refuses to actually negotiate. They’re trying to force Israel to release only the prisoners they demand, no negotiations, and I think that Suleiman has no real influence over them. So I expect this deal to fail, as have all the others.
Meantime, residents of southern Israel who are under bombardment are insisting there should be no truce without Shalit’s return.
The petition is expected to be presented to Defense Minister Ehud Barak later in the day. The initiative was launched by members of Kibbutz Kfar Aza following the death of 48-year-old Jimmy Kdoshim, who was killed on May 8 when a mortar shell fired from Gaza hit his house in the kibbutz.
Copies of the petition were distributed in nearby communities and sent via email to residents of the south. The kidnapped soldier’s father, Noam Shalit, gave his blessing to the intiative.
Kfar Aza resident Batia Holin said “we will not agree to a truce without (the return of) Gilad Shalit. We prefer to continue and suffer from the Qassam and mortar fire than accept a ceasefire agreement that does not include Gilad.”
That’s funny. I thought Israeli morale was broken. I thought this was a beaten people. I thought the daily rain of rockets and threats were causing depression, angst, and lack of patriotism among all Israelis. At least, that’s what I keep reading in all those 60th anniversary articles saying that Israel is nearing the end of its existence.
Looks like even those lefty kibbutzniks still have that gumption that made a desert bloom, and a thousands-year-old country come back to life.
Reports of Israel’s demise are greatly exaggerated.
Good for those kibbutzniks. It is a noble deed to put the return of Cpl. Shalit above their own safety. That is the kind of spirit that founded Israel and safeguarded her for so many years.