 |
 |
 |
|
|
Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz , left, watches as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert makes a statement as he chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in his Jerusalem offices. (AP)
|
|
|
|
|
|
| By Associated Press June 25, 2006 |
|
| |
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday he holds the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas-ruled government responsible for a deadly militant attack on a military outpost earlier in the day. Two IDF soldiers were killed Sunday morning in the attack on the outpost in Kerem Shalom: Lieutenant Hanan Barak (20) from Arad and Sergeant Pavel Slocker from Dimona. Corporal Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by the militants.
"We in Israel view the Palestinian Authority, headed by chairman Abu Mazen and the Palestinian government, responsible for this incident, with all that implies," Olmert said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is commonly known as Abu Mazen.
Palestinian militants launched a three-pronged attack early Sunday on an Israeli military post, penetrating the border through a tunnel and killing at least two Israelis, and kidnapping one. Three militants were killed in an ensuing gun battle.
Chief of IDF Personnel Directorate Elazar Stern visited the western Galilee home of kidnapped soldier Shalit Sunday afternoon, and updated the family on the Kerem Shalom incident.
According to ynetnews, Stern said to reporters: "I told the family that we know Gilad was forced to walk against his will during the incident. According to our estimations he is alive and being held in captivity. We are working to bring him home safely."
"This is a typically strong Israeli family that is well-aware of the situation; they are showing patience, but they are also living in uncertainty, praying and hoping that that it will all end as soon as possible. The family knows the IDF is making every effort to bring Gilad home as soon as possible," Stern added.
Chief of Staff Dan Halutz also spoke with members of the Shalit family, saying that the army would do all in its power to bring the missing 19-year-old corporal home. He said that "as far as the IDF knows, the abducted soldier is alive."
Ilana Levy-Zrihan, a friend of the Shalit family, said: "We are following the developments closely and we're getting our information from the media. We hope everything will end peacefully."
Levy said Gilad began his IDF service 11 months ago. He has a 20-year-old brother and 16-year-old sister.
"I really cannot go into details, but we have several reasons to believe that he is alive. The estimation was made based on the information we have," Chief of Staff Halutz said.
Sources in the Palestinian organizations that carried out the attack told Palestinian media that "the activists are providing the abducted soldier with medical treatment in order to use him as a bargaining chip and hold negotiations for a hostage exchange deal." The sources said the soldier is seriously wounded.
Halutz stressed that "the Palestinians are responsible for the abducted soldier's fate, and we will do everything we can to return him. There is no doubt that this caught us by surprise, in certain aspects, without a concrete warning." He admitted that "the incident in Kerem Shalom caught us unprepared. This incident is a hundred times worse because this is also not the consequence we hope for in such an encounter."
"We have to understand that this war against terror is an ongoing war and we have to do all we can on a continual basis to deal with it. Apparently our breaks are misinterpreted by the other side, and things speak for themselves," Halutz said.
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
