Israel Matzav

Gilad Shalit watching the World Cup?

Hamas claims that kidnapped IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit (four years held hostage on Friday) is watching the World Cup Soccer matches from his prison in Gaza. Of course, they won't let the Red Cross or anyone else in to verify it.

Shalit has been following the daily matches on the pro-Hamas al-Aqsa satellite channel, al-Resallah news reported.

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The report said watching the soccer matches helps Shalit forget his despair "after the Israeli government decided to suspend indirect talks to finalize the swap deal with Hamas."

The report, which does not quote any sources within Hamas or among Shalit's captors and reads like propaganda, claims that the abducted soldier is tired of the Israeli politicians' lies and their false vows to secure his release, and therefore he is focusing on the World Cup games because he understands that the Israeli public is more focused on soccer than on him.

Egypt, and later Germany, had tried to finalize a prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel. However, the efforts collapsed after Hamas insisted that Israel free 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including those who were directly involved in terror attacks against Israelis.

The report said Shalit, who holds French nationality, "was very sad when France was defeated by Mexico during the World Cup matches held in South Africa."

But Hamas has turned down yet another request to let the Red Cross visit Shalit. They claim that they are afraid that if the Red Cross is allowed to visit Shalit, Israel will conduct a rescue operation.

In an interview with Hamas newspaper, Falastin, four years after Schalit was captured, Hamas lawmaker Yichia Musa said that the Red Cross had not taken into consideration the reality and situation on the ground as well as the political and military issues involved.

That's funny. I don't recall any such considerations being part of the Geneva Convention. Why doesn't the Red Cross or the 'international community' call Hamas on that? Of course - Shalit is a Jew and the hypocrites at the Red Cross (who barred Israel's Magen David Adom for nearly 60 years and made it change its logo as a condition for admission) and in the 'international community' treat Jews differently than everyone else.

Musa explained that Hamas's concern was based on the security of the location in which the soldier was being held. The Red Cross would not be able to "guarantee Schalit's safety," the Hamas official was quoted as saying.

"Handling this matter in an unthoughtful way will encourage Israel to engage in an operation to rescue Shalit from captivity with force, something that may endanger everyone involved," Musa warned.

He declared that the Red Cross "can discuss the rights of 8,000 Palestinian prisoners which Israel is denying humanitarian rights to in a way that clearly exposes their [Israel's] offensive manner, 'Schalit Law' being a recent example."

Ah yes, the Shalit law. It would scale back the rights of 'Palestinian' terrorists to what's required under international law as compared with the family visits, televisions and cell phones that they currently have.

In addition, Musa explained that Hamas has been replying to demands in negotiations with Israel and transferred letters from the Schalit family to Gilad.

"We cannot continue to send letters to and from Gilad since Israel is using special technology to try and locate his [Gilad's] location. This damages our efforts to end the suffering of Palestinian prisoners," Hamas lawmaker concluded.

Funny - I don't recall seeing that in the Geneva Convention either.

By the way, it's not that the International Red Cross has not tried to visit Shalit.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it has approached Hamas a number of times to allow its representatives to visit the kidnapped soldier in Gaza, only to be denied time after time.

"One of our main achievements is that we have been able to visit nearly everyone detained in connection to this conflict, with the exception of Gilad Shalit," Pierre Dorbes, deputy head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Israel and the Occupied Territories, told Haaretz on Tuesday.

But of course. Shalit is the one prisoner who is not controlled by Israel.

Friday will mark four years since Gilad Shalit was kidnapped from the Kerem Shalom crossing point. There was a mass rally in Paris on Tuesday to mark the occasion, and there's a flotilla of peace being held in New York on Thursday to demand Shalit's release. And in Rome, they turned out the lights in the Colosseum to demand Shalit's release. But the UN and its 'Human Rights Commission' are silent, the 'international community' is silent (and continues to throw money at Hamas and to demand its 'human rights') and even our 'friends' are silent. Gilad Shalit is a Jew so no one outside of Israel and the Jewish community cares about his fate. A lesson to all of us.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:34 AM