Gaza prison committee praises Shalit family’s efforts

Published yesterday (updated) 30/06/2010 18:50

Bethlehem/Gaza - Ma'an -

The Detainees’ Support Committee in Gaza called on the Shalit family on Wednesday to continue to pressure their government to secure the release of their son.

The Shalit family is on a 12-day march to Jerusalem, where they plan to camp outside Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s residence until their son is returned home. Gilad, an Israeli soldier, was captured in along the Gaza border four years ago.

Negotiations to swap Gilad for Palestinian prisoners have been unsuccessful so far.

In a statement, the prisoners’ committee questioned why the world is “crying for Shalit” yet ignores the plight of the more than 7,000 Palestinian prisoners, some of whom have spent more than 30 years behind bars, adding, “he is not better than our prisoners; he should not see the light until our prisoners do.”

Reiterating Hamas’ recent statement that the Israeli government is obstructing Shalit’s release, the committee commended Shalit’s family for realizing that “the solution is in the hands of their government.”

The committee insisted that prisoners who have been in Israeli jails since before the 1994 Oslo Agreement must be released in a swap deal.

This list includes more than 310 prisoners, 116 of whom have spent over 20 years in Israeli prisons, and three of whom have been imprisoned for over 30 years.

Israel's four most recent defense ministers are reportedly ready for a deal, according to Israeli press reports on Tuesday.

Muzaini: No new proposals on exchange deal

[ 30/06/2010 - 03:41 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

Osama Al-Muzaini, a Hamas leader, has denied press reports speculating that new proposals were tabled regarding the resumption of negotiations on the prisoners' exchange deal between the Israeli occupation government and the Palestinian resistance.

Muzaini told Quds Press that there are no serious moves on the deal, "And we, in Hamas, had not received anything new in this regard".

The Hamas leader, who was largely responsible for the exchange file within Hamas, was commenting on news reports that Amos Gilad, the head of the political-security branch in the Israeli war ministry, had visited Cairo a couple of days ago and met with Omar Suleiman, the Egyptian intelligence chief, to discuss the swap deal.

Muzaini said that Gilad's visit to Egypt did not have any impact on the negotiations as Cairo had assumed a limited role in the issue after the Germans took over the mediation.

Hamas would never give up its demands in return for the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, he said, affirming that his movement had displayed all necessary flexibility to conclude the deal.