zondag 19 juni 2011

Al Qassam Brigades schieten deal over Shalit af

Hamas kan duizend van haar helden vrij krijgen, waardoor zij flink aan populariteit en kracht zal winnen. Onder hen bevinden zich grote jongens, die levenslang hebben voor het doden van Israelische burgers, een heldendaad in de Hamas ideologie. Toch heeft Hamas dit – wederom – afgewezen. Waarom? Dat maakt onderstaand artikel niet echt duidelijk, maar laat zich wel raden: men verwacht wellicht nog wat beters te kunnen krijgen. Israel wil die arme Shalit zo graag vrij hebben, zo redeneert men, dat we een nog hogere prijs kunnen vragen. En dat is misschien niet eens zo heel vreemd: er zijn in Israel geregeld demonstraties voor Shalits vrijlating, en de familie van Shalit en een schare mensen die hen steunen zetten politici continu onder druk om meer te doen voor zijn vrijlating, en verder te gaan in wat men voor hem wil bieden. Hamas denkt dus dat er nog wel wat rek in zit, althans, dat is de positie van de Al Qassam Brigades, die blijkbaar het laatste woord hebben. Het politieke leiderschap zou hier wel mee akkoord zijn gegaan.

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'Hamas armed wing rejects 1,000-prisoner Schalit deal'

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=225465

By REUTERS
06/18/2011 00:46

German gov't sources say Hamas' political wing approved deal, Izzadin Kassam Brigades vetoed; Merkel, Sarkozy urge progress on Schalit.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday called for the release of captive IDF soldier Gilad Schalit.

Merkel, speaking at a joint appearance with the French president called Schalit's release "a very important matter," ahead of the fifth anniversary of the IDF soldier's kidnapping by Hamas terrorists.

According to German government sources, there is a deal on the table in which Israel would release approximately 1,000 prisoners in exchange for Schalit. The deal was rejected by Hamas' armed wing, the Izzadin Kassam Brigades, despite approval by the groups political wing, according to German officials.

For France, the Schalit case is particularly sensitive because the captive soldier holds dual Israeli-French citizenship. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe met with Schalit's parents, Noam and Aviva in Jerusalem during a visit to Jerusalem earlier this month.

Germany has mediated attempts to reach a deal between Hamas and Israel for several years.

Earlier in June, Noam and Aviva Schalit appealed to the French judicial system to hold Hamas, including its Damascus-based leader Khaled Mashaal, responsible for kidnapping their son Gilad and keeping him hostage in Gaza for the past five years.

If their legal effort in France is successful, arrest warrants could be issued against members of Hamas, including Mashaal. A suit can be filed in France due to Schalit's dual citizenship.

French law is applicable to anyone who is a French citizen, even if the criminal act against him occurred outside of France, explained an attorney for the Schalit family in Israel, Nick Kaufman.