Hamas: Shalit deal to be finalized within 2 weeks

[Behind the Aegis]

The deal over the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit will be solved before the end of the Muslim month of Ramadan in two weeks, senior Hamas official Ahmed Yousef said on Friday.

Yousef, who serves as an adviser to Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, said Shalit would be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails.

Exiled Hamas leaders based in Damascus have said they are willing to release captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit from Gaza if they were allowed to return to the Strip, Israel Radio reported Friday morning.

The radio report was based on an article released Thursday in the Nazareth-based daily Al-Sinara.


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[Vitruvius]

1. Shalit is an Israeli soldier, hence a POW, and not a 'kidnap' victim.

Israel holds many Hamas prisoners, not to mention Arab civilians -- who are therefore kidnap victims. Unlike Shalit.

And Israel has made many incursions into Lebanon to grab more prisoners. Hamas had every right in the world to grab some Israeli soldiers, e.g. to trade...

[pampango]

2. If Lebanon, Egypt, or Syria captured Shalit then he is a POW.

If the Mafia, the Columbian drug cartel, Al Queda, Hamas or Hezbollah captured him, then he is a kidnapped soldier.

Does that mean that Israel has right to kidnap (arrest) Hamas members and civilians? No. Anyone suspected of committing crimes should be arrested by the security forces in their place of residence and either tried there or extradited. If that doesn't happen, there is a problem that I don't have an answer for.

[Behind the Aegis]

3. Some errors

First, pampango makes some great points about the distinction between "kidnapped" and "POW." Second, Israel has not made many incursions into Lebanon to grab more prisoners, and I also fail to see how that statement is relevant to the situation in Gaza. Finally, Hamas does not have the right to grab soldiers to make trades, that is contrary to law. It is not right when Israel does it, then it is not right when they do it (or we do it for that matter).

This is the part of the story I find most interesting:

"Egypt succeeded in securing a swap deal with Israel to free women, children, elders and those who have been serving long prison terms in exchange for the soldier," Abul Gheit told Al Arabiya television. "A deal that could have guaranteed freeing 900-1,000 prisoners- but sadly they have decided to keep holding him ," said Abul Gheit.

This lays waste to the arguments that many presented here that the release of women and children would result in the release of the solider. I said they wouldn't take the deal, they only want their "people" released. To me, and hopefully the Palestinian people, this demonstrates that this group only cares about their needs and not the needs or desires of the people they were elected to represent.