Israeli troops are massing
along the Gaza Strip border following the Israeli Prime Minister's
threats against Palestinian militants. This came as a result of the
abduction of an Israeli soldier early Sunday.
The abducted soldier was Cpl.
Gilad Shalit, a dual French-Israeli citizen who followed his older
brother into the Israeli military. His kidnapping occurred during an
attack on an Israeli military compound by Palestinian militants -
believed to have ties to Hamas - who tunneled into Israel. Two Israeli
soldiers and three Palestinian militants were also killed during the
attack.
Israeli PM Olmert stated that
he would not negotiate with the kidnappers. Furthermore, he stated that
he holds the entire Palestinian leadership responsible for the abducted
soldier's safety.
According to reports,
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was working with Egyptian mediators
and Arab and Western leaders in an attempt to locate the soldier. A
spokesperson for the Hamas-led Palestinian government claimed to have
received information stating that Shalit was alive and had urged the
soldier's captors to keep him safe.
Gazid Hamad, a spokesman for
the Hamas government, claimed that Hamas was working with Abbas and
Egypt to find a peaceful resolution and that the Hamas political
leadership was not informed that an attack had been planned. In
addition, he had also appealed for the soldier's safe release.
Reports also stated that some
members of the Hamas leadership were also in negotiation with the
soldier's captors to secure his release.
Meanwhile, Shalit's family also came out and to plead with his captors to treat him humanely.
In Gaza City, some
relatives of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons urged the militants
to hold Shalit until the Israeli government agress to a large-scale
release of Palestinians being jailed by Israel.
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