Kuwaiti newspaper: Marzouk given Shalit video
The Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jarida reports on Monday that Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk, who visited the Gaza Strip with Israeli approval on Thursday and Friday of last week, was given a videotape of kidnapped IDF corporal Gilad Shalit that shows Shalit in good health. The tape is being held by Hamas as a 'bargaining chip' to show how 'serious' Hamas is about wrapping up the affair. The paper on Monday quoted Palestinian sources as saying that Marzouk was given the tape by Izzaddin Kassam Brigades' top commander, Ahmad Jabari. He reportedly also received a letter from Schalit, which he passed on to the Syrian Foreign Ministry.Let's hope at least that this time, if the Israeli government is foolish enough to make the kind of lopsided trade that's being discussed, they at least check first that they are getting a live soldier and not a dead one.
The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the veracity of the report.
According to the report, the tape will not be released unless "significant progress" is made in negotiations with Israel, and Palestinian sources were quoted as saying "Hamas wants to use the tape as a bargaining chip at the end of negotiations, to prove how serious it is in its desire to wrap up the matter."
Last week, the Kuwaiti paper reported that Marzouk met with Gaza leaders from his organization's military wing, "including officials responsible for the captivity of Schalit," after attending Palestinian reconciliation talks in Egypt.
Marzouk, who was born in the Rafah refugee camp, spent nearly 24 hours in Gaza after entering from Sinai on March 5, visiting family and his parents' graves, an Israeli defense official told the Post last week.
It was believed to be his first visit to Gaza in at least 20 and possibly 30 years.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:22 AM
1 Comments:
I'm opposed to ANY trade. Israel should raise the price Hamas must pay for getting Gilad Shalit back but then again Jews don't know how to bargain in the bazaar and time and time and time again they get left holding the short end of the stick. The video means nothing since a video can be doctored and Israel has only Hamas' word for it that Shalit is alive. That is not acceptable - and NO deal should be concluded without an independent third party verifying Shalit is alive and having him in their custody prior to ANY deal being carried out.
Otherwise, Israel may find itself swindled by a hope cruelly smashed again.
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