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An Israel artillery piece prepares to fire into Lebanon from a position on the border near the town of Moshav Margaliyot. (AP)
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| By Associated Press July 12, 2006 |
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A top Hamas official said Wednesday that Israel must free all Arab prisoners to win the release of captured Israeli soldiers.
Osama Hamdan, the spokesman of Hamas in Lebanon, said the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah's seizure of two Israeli soldiers in a raid Wednesday strengthens the position of the Palestininian miliant movement Hamas, which captured an Israel soldier on June 25.
"We have proven to this enemy (Israel) that the one option is the release of Palestinian, Lebanese and Arab captives. All captives, without exception," Hamdan told Al-Jazeera television.
"What happened has strengthed the issue of the captives, and the enemy will submit to our choice, which is the exchange of the captives in return for the release of the soldiers," he said.
The comments appeared to reflect a toughening of Hamas' stance in the abduction of Israel's Cpl. Gilad Shalit, in a cross-border raid outside Gaza. Previously, Hamas demanded the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners in return for Shalit's release.
Hamdan did not say whether Hamas had consulted with Hezbollah over Wednesday's seizure of the two soldiers at Israel's northern border with Lebanon. But he said they may be subsequent "coordination and an understanding" between the two groups, suggesting they might coordinate their demands.
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