Hamas threatens to kidnap more Israeli soldiers

By Xinhua

Gaza : The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Saturday warned that his movement will kidnap more Israeli soldiers if the Jewish state rejects to go ahead with a prisoner exchange deal.


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“Capturing soldiers is not the goal and it is not a hobby,” said Osama al-Muzini, a Hamas leader authorized to speak about the file of a captive Israeli soldier.

“The goal is freeing our prisoners and we insist on this… if there was no response by the enemy, there is no doubt that the kidnapping of more soldiers will take place until all the prisoners are released,” al-Muzini added.

Hamas and two other factions kidnapped Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit in June 2006 and held him hostage in Gaza since then.

Al-Muzini said the indirect talks to free Shalit for a number of Palestinian prisoners are frozen because Israel wants to reserve the right of determining who will be freed.

Meanwhile, as for the internal Palestinian situation, al-Muzini said there were no talks between Hamas and rival Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas.

“The Palestinian National Authority tends towards conflict rather than agreement,” al-Muzini said.

Hamas ousted Fatah from Gaza in June 2007 and took over the Gaza Strip, demanding more power and control in a unity government that Hamas calls for. Abbas deposed the Hamas-led government and formed a western-backed cabinet ruling from West Bank.

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