By Xinhua
Jerusalem : Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is scheduled to visit Qatar on Sunday in a bid to seek the release of the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, local daily Yedioth Aharonoth reported Tuesday.
The planned visit came after a senior Hamas official threatened to negotiate over Shalit’s bones if Israel turns down the group’s demand to free 350 Palestinian prisoners.
Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy leader of Hamas’ political bureau, issued the death threat in an interview with Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas, according to Israeli daily Ha’aretz.
During her visit to Qatar, Livni is expected to hold a series of personal meetings with Arab foreign ministers and parliament members, trying to strengthen the Gulf states’ front against the looming Iranian nuclear threat, the report said.
The Israeli foreign minister also plans to tackle the crisis between Israel and the Al-Jazeera television station based in the Qatari capital of Doha, according to the newspaper.
Israel is boycotting the pan-Arab news station, accusing it of broadcasting one-sided coverage on the Jewish state’s conflict with the Palestinians.
Contrary to a Kuwaiti media report saying Livni is expected to meet Syrian official in Qatar, the Israeli newspaper said she has no such a plan.
Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit was captured in June 2006 during a Hamas-led raid at an Israeli army base outside the Gaza Strip. Since then, he has been held hostage in Gaza as the captors demand a prisoner exchange agreement.