Exiled Hamas leader says Palestinians should seize more soldiers [View All]

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Exiled Hamas leader says Palestinians should seize more soldiers

By Avi Issacharof, Amos Harel and Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz Correspondents

A Hamas official close to the group's exiled leader said Tuesday that the Palestinians should try to capture more Israel Defense Forces soldiers, criticizing Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for helping Israel search for a soldier seized by militants.

Further complicating matters as IDF troops and armor massed on the Gaza border, another Hamas official from the exiled leadership said the soldier was considered a "prisoner of war" and it would be hard for Israel to win his release without making concessions.

Corporal Gilad Shalit, 19, was seized Sunday by militants who infiltrated Israel's border by a tunnel. The militants' demanded the release of detained Palestinian women and children in return for information about Shalit.


Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has rejected the demands and ordered the military to prepare for combat.
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http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/731574.html