Haaretz schrijft:
Finally, the release of Samir Kuntar and four other Hezbollah militants last week in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers served to reaffirm the impression among Hamas decision-makers that perseverance and patience - two traits that are tragically lacking on the Israeli side of the border - will eventually pay off.
In fact, Hamas is working under the assumption that even though it has made unreasonable demands, the atmosphere Israel's media are producing will force the government to bow down and accept these demands - or at least most of them.
Ik zou zeggen: hou daar dan vandaag nog mee op. Dus geen dramatische verklaringen meer van familieleden publiceren maar in plaats daarvan de vraag stellen of zij, met hun begrijpelijke emoties en wanhoop niet teveel invloed hebben op dergelijke belangrijke beslissingen. Meet breed uit wat voor misdadigers Hamas vrij wil hebben en hoe groot de kans is dat die nieuwe aanslagen zullen beramen en plegen, en hoeveel doden daarbij kunnen vallen, en ook hoe schadelijk dat is voor het vredesproces en een einde aan de bezetting, zaken waar Haaretz zich hard voor maakt. Publiceer namen van bij eerdere deals vrijgekomen terroristen en de aanslagen die zij na hun vrijlating hebben gepleegd. Enz. Enz.
RP
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Last update - 07:23 22/07/2008
ANALYSIS / Calls to free Shalit obscure Hamas' role in talks
By Avi Issacharoff
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1004154.html
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1004154.html
The frequent calls for the government to secure the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, as they appear in the Israeli media, create the false impression that the decision to promote negotiations for a deal with Hamas is entirely up to Israel.
At times, it seems as though Hamas is not at all a party in the talks, and that solely Israeli intransigence at the demand to free Palestinian prisoners "with blood on their hands" is holding things up.
The truth is that the talks to free Shalit are bogged down mainly because of Hamas. To the media, Israeli officials insist that Jerusalem is prepared to release only 450 prisoners. In fact, Israel has already accepted Hamas' demand to release 1,000 detainees.
The 550-prisoner difference can be chalked up to semantics: Hamas is describing the 1,000 deal as a two-phase transaction, with the additional 550 set to be released two months after the first batch. Israel describes its agreement to release the 550 inmates as "a goodwill gesture toward the Palestinian Authority."
The 550-prisoner difference can be chalked up to semantics: Hamas is describing the 1,000 deal as a two-phase transaction, with the additional 550 set to be released two months after the first batch. Israel describes its agreement to release the 550 inmates as "a goodwill gesture toward the Palestinian Authority."
But the main obstacle is Hamas' utter intransigence regarding the makeup of the list of 1,000 prisoners. The Islamist organization is demanding the release of some of the masterminds of the deadliest suicide attacks to have hit Israel in the past two decades.
Additionally, Hamas has twice canceled the departure of a negotiation team for the Shalit deal. The first time, they stayed home to punish Israel for closing the crossing to Gaza. Then it canceled another to protest Israel's "failure to uphold the cease-fire agreement."
Finally, the release of Samir Kuntar and four other Hezbollah militants last week in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers served to reaffirm the impression among Hamas decision-makers that perseverance and patience - two traits that are tragically lacking on the Israeli side of the border - will eventually pay off.
In fact, Hamas is working under the assumption that even though it has made unreasonable demands, the atmosphere Israel's media are producing will force the government to bow down and accept these demands - or at least most of them.
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