The German mediator involved in the efforts to secure the release of captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is back on the job, Italy’s news agency reported today.
Palestinian sources as well as other sources familiar with the negotiations said that the mediator is attempted to advance a swap after a lengthy impasse.
Hamas sources say that Israel has rejected previous understandings reached between the sides. For the time being, no new initiatives were presented to either Hamas or Israel, as the German mediator looks into the willingness to renew the negotiations on both sides. Hamas demands that the contacts be premised on the previous understandings, rather than on Israel’s latest response to the mediator.
The sources estimated that the negotiations will not be renewed immediately, and that in any case the contacts will encounter difficulties as result of the great gaps between Hamas’ and Israel’s positions.
Meanwhile, after a long silence and despite the German mediator’s requests not to make any public announcements, Hamas repeated its demand to release Arab-Israeli prisoners and residents of east Jerusalem in return for Gilad Shalit.
The Higher Committee of Detainee Affairs in the Gaza Strip today organized a solidarity rally for the prisoners, while marking Land Day.
Hamas’ Justice Minister Muhammad al-Ghoul repeated his organization’s demand to release Arab-Israeli prisoners as part of the prisoner exchange deal, despite Israel’s fierce objection.
“We say to our brothers in Jerusalem that the territories occupied in 1948 will be included in the deal. We laud Gilad Shalit’s captors for their determination not to give in until a deal is signed and their demands are met,” al-Ghoul said.
The justice minister added that these prisoners are “freedom fighters who fought against a military. They proved that this land will not belong to Jews, and that resistance will continue until the land is returned to Palestinians who paid with the blood of martyrs and the suffering of prisoners.
“Our bond with the land is a religious-ideological bond, despite all the enemy’s attempts to annex the holy places and Judaize al-Aqsa Mosque,” he said.
{Ynet/Yair Alpert-Matzav.com Israel}
I hate to say it, but it seems Shalit will get out when Pollard gets out, which I don’t know if it will ever happen! The arabs are just playing games & teasing the Shalit family. They have no intentions of ever letting him go free (if they indeed still have him?)!
Our one and only redeemer is Hashem.
Maybe Hashem is waiting for Shalit’s tefilos, his parents’ tefilos, and our tefilos on his behalf.
Let’s storm the heavens.
For Gilad ben Aviva, b’soch shear the MIAs.