Hamas releases audio of captured Israeli

[oberliner]

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Hamas militants posted an audio message on Monday from an Israeli soldier captured a year ago at an army base near the Gaza Strip, the first sign of life from the young serviceman since he was seized.

In the message, posted on the Web site of Hamas' military wing, Cpl. Gilad Shalit sent greetings to his family and said his health was failing. He also expressed disappointment in the "lack of interest" of the Israeli government in his fate.

"I have spent a full year in prison, and my health is still deteriorating, and I need a prolonged hospitalization. I regret the lack of interest on the part of the Israeli government and the Israel Defense Forces in my case and their refusal to meet the demands of the al-Qassam brigades," he added.

Shalit was captured on June 25, 2006, in a cross-border raid by militants from Hamas and two allied groups who tunneled into Israel from the Gaza Strip. Negotiations for his release, mediated by Egypt, have repeatedly broken down and been complicated since Hamas took control of Gaza two weeks ago.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070625/ap_on_re_mi_ea/palestinians_captured_soldier;_ylt=AuWKTFZoObXBLTbM0FCFQTGs0NUE

[ohio2007]

1. Israel announces prisoner release

but how many are Hamas members?
Not alll will be Fatah I have read
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x178709

[Scurrilous]

2. Family of a Captured Israeli Soldier Gets Word to Hamas, via Norway

<snip>

"Two weeks before Monday’s release of an audiotape of a captured Israeli soldier in Gaza, his father set in motion a request to Hamas, the Islamic militant group holding the soldier, for some sign that the young man was alive.

Seeking new channels of communication after a year with no word from the soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, his father, Noam Shalit, sought the assistance of Norway, the only European country to maintain ties with Hamas leaders, according to someone involved in the mediation.

In mid-June, Mr. Shalit traveled to Norway with Yossi Beilin, the head of the leftist Meretz Party in Israel, and met with Jonas Gahr Store, the Norwegian foreign minister, a spokesman for the Norwegian Foreign Ministry confirmed. A few days later, Sven Sevje, the Norwegian special envoy to the Middle East, met with the Hamas political chief, Khaled Meshal, in Damascus, Syria, on behalf of the Shalit family.

In the meeting with Mr. Meshal, the Norwegian envoy requested that either a Norwegian official or a representative of the Red Cross be allowed to visit Corporal Shalit in Gaza.

The request was denied, but Mr. Meshal said the Israeli soldier was in good health and promised to help produce a sign of life.

Mr. Shalit and Mr. Beilin both refused to comment on the meetings because of the delicacy of the case, but the individual involved in the mediation efforts and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry spokesman have confirmed the details."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/world/middleeast/27mideast.html?ref=world