Militants demand 1,000 prisoners for Israeli

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) – Palestinian militant factions who captured
an Israeli soldier demanded on Saturday that Israel free 1,000
prisoners from its jails and end an assault on Gaza launched to
win the soldier’s release.

A statement from the groups — the second since Corporal
Gilad Shalit was captured in a raid across Gaza’s frontier on
Sunday — appeared to cast doubt on the hopes of mediators that
diplomacy could soon get him free and demanded an end to “all
Israeli aggression” in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank.

Israel has said it will not consider releasing prisoners in
exchange for Shalit.

“We are declaring to the public our just and humanitarian
demands,” said the statement faxed to news agencies by the
armed wing of the governing Hamas Islamist group, the Popular
Resistance Committees and Army of Islam.

It repeated an earlier demand for the release of women
prisoners and minors in exchange for information on Shalit, but
made the added request for Israel to free 1,000 “Palestinian,
Arab and Muslim prisoners.”

It said these would have to include all Palestinian faction
leaders as well as humanitarian cases.

The statement did not specify that this would be in
exchange for Shalit’s release, but Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for
the Hamas armed wing, said that was what it meant.

The document cast doubt on mediation efforts.

“In spite of the good efforts of the mediators who tried in
silence to speed up the treatment of this humanitarian matter,
the enemy and their political leadership are still under the
pressure of the security and military command,” it said.

“The escalation and arrogance mean the enemy will be
responsible for the bad consequences,” it said. There was no
specific threat to Shalit.

Mediators earlier voiced hope that their efforts could bear
fruit.

Israel’s tanks moved into southern Gaza on Wednesday and
its aircraft fired missiles at training camps for militants
early on Saturday, but the Jewish state has kept on hold a
threatened ground offensive into northern Gaza.

Israel has said it is playing no part in mediation efforts.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, whose Hamas movement is
officially committed to destroying Israel, demanded an end to
the Israeli offensive on Friday and said it was complicating
efforts to end the standoff.