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Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal.
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| By israelinsider staff April 30, 2007 |
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Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said Monday in a Damascus refugee camp, "Hamas is determined to free all the Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails, be it by kidnapping more soldiers or other methods," Ynetnews reported. Mashaal was speaking at a rally for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Mashaal emphasized that kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Schalit would not be released until all of Hamas' demands were met and threatened further kidnappings, saying "If the enemy insists on continuing to refuse to free our prisoners, I am saying here that we have every capability to do again what we have done before."
Mashaal's words confirm the fear of many Israelis that a prisoner exchange with Hamas for the release of Schalit would only give Hamas reason for further kidnappings.
Mashaal also attacked the international community for not acting to stop "Israel's policy of terror, killing, arrests and siege against the Palestinian people.
"While the leaders of the world already know the name Gilad Schalit by heart, the name of Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Dr. Aziz Dwaik is of no interest to anyone."
Mashaal also said that Hamas' list of demands were given to Israel. He said, "The Israelis initially accepted the list, but then later they started playing games with various excuses. The enemy is trying to manipulate and use extortion tactics, but I emphasize: Schalit will only be released if our demands are met and only in exchange for the price we have stipulated. We will not give in to their extortions."
According to Haaretz, in an interview published Monday in the Palestinian newspaper al-Ayyam, Mashaal said that Israel may be facing another Palestinian intifada if the West does not lift its boycott on Palestinian aid and if the situation in Gaza and the West Bank do not improve.
In Mashaal's words, prolonging the boycott on the Palestinian Authority and further Israeli military operations would, "give notice to a huge explosion that would not only affect the Palestinians but also the entire region, especially the Zionist entity."
Mashaal continued, "I warn and say that I see that the current situation is heading in the direction of the conditions that prevailed in the late 1990s ... that paved the way for the al-Aqsa intifada." He added, "I warn and under 'warn' I put many red lines." |
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