Gaza, July 4 (Xinhua) One of the three militant groups that abducted an Israeli soldier announced Tuesday that there would be no more discussions on freeing him as their ultimatum to Israel had expired.
'The case is closed,' said Abu Muthana, a spokesman of the Islamic Army that kidnapped Gilad Shalit together with Hamas' armed wing al-Qassam Brigades and the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC).
'We won't give any more information about the fate of the soldier,' he added.
When asked if the militants would kill the soldier, Muthana said that Muslims would never kill their hostages.
The three militant groups issued an ultimatum Monday setting a deadline of 6.00 a.m. (3:00 GMT) Tuesday for Israel to free Palestinian prisoners or face the consequences.
But Israel rejected the ultimatum and pressed on with its military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Abu Mujahed, spokesman of the PRC, said earlier that all efforts to free the captive Israeli soldier had reached a dead end because the occupation government (Israel) had rejected the captors' demands.
© 2006 Xinhua |