Israel Matzav

Where is Gilad Shalit?

The main reason that the IDF began its operation now and in the way it began the operation is that it believes that Gilad Shalit is being hidden in the Khan Yunis 'refugee camp.' The IDF would like to keep him there.

According to HaAretz, the missiles shot at the main bridge in Gaza City were designed to prevent the 'Palestinians' from moving Shalit elsewhere, possibly to the Jabalya 'refugee camp'.

But the Debka.com intelligence page believes that the IDF is desparately trying to prevent Shalit from being smuggled out of the country altogether. According to Debka, the 'Palestinians' cut off negotiations with diplomats seeking to win Shalit's release earlier this evening, and it is feared that the Hamas faction holding Shalit has smuggled him out of the Gaza Strip through Sinai to a hostile Arab country, using the services of the Semhadana clan’s gunrunners, who are after revenge for Israel’s assassination of their kinsman. It is also possible that he has been put in the hands of al Qaeda cells in Sinai, Egypt, Sudan, Iraq or Lebanon.

Israel’s armed forces are making every effort to prevent the Israeli hostage from being taken out of the Gaza Strip, but without firm knowledge of where he is hidden, they are groping in the dark. The IDF are now paying in full the price for passing the Philadelphi border strip to Egyptian security (and intelligence) control. For those who have forgotten, when Rachel Corrie met up with an Israeli bulldozer, she was attempting to prevent the destruction of a house that was being used for a weapons tunnel in the Philadelphi corridor.

Earlier, Palestinian PRC umbrella spokesman Muhammed al-Al said Gilead Shalit has been moved to hideout where “the Zionists will never reach him.”

The Jerusalem Post adds that according to an IDF intelligence officer, Shalit is in the hands of the military wing of Hamas, that was receiving orders from Hamas leader in exile Khaled Mashaal.

The intelligence officer also said that Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniya did not know of Shalit's exact location but that he was 'acquainted' with the people who kidnapped him. He added that Haniyeh and PA Foreign Minister Mahmoud a-Zahar were acting to solve the situation and that the IDF was operating in order to prevent the soldier from being moved out of Gaza and into Sinai. It's amazing what the threat of the helicopters does to the 'Palestinian leadership.'

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:09 AM