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Israel rejects ultimatum
03/07/2006 13:50 - (SA)
Jerusalem - Israeli army chief Dan Halutz on Monday rejected a 24-hour ultimatum set by the captors of an Israeli soldier held in the Gaza Strip who are demanding the release of Palestinian prisoners.
"We will not give in to any blackmailing or to any ultimatum put forth by any terror organisation, and in this specific case, by Hamas," Halutz told reporters after meeting the parents of 19-year-old serviceman Gilad Shalit.
Halutz reiterated that Israel was ready to take military action in order to retrieve Shalit, who is believed to be held in southern Gaza.
"We will do everything necessary and possible to bring him back home," Halutz said.
"We see in them the captors of Gilad and that their commanders bear the responsibility for Gilad's health."
Unspecified consequences
Three Palestinian militant groups that abducted the teenage Israeli serviceman eight days ago set the deadline for Israel to meet their demands, warning of unspecified consequences.
"Faced with the Zionist enemy's persistence in taking military measures and aggressions, we give it a delay expiring Tuesday, July 4 at 06:00," a statement said.
"If the enemy does not meet the demands we laid out in our previous statement... we will consider the matter closed and the enemy will be responsible for all results," said the statement from the Popular Resistance Committees, the armed wing of the ruling Hamas movement and the Army of Islam.
The three groups holding Shalit have demanded the release of "1 000 Palestinian, Arab, Muslim and other prisoners," adding all detained leaders of Palestinian movements, elderly and sick detainees should be freed.
Abduction to avenge civilian deaths
They have also reiterated an earlier demand for the release of women and juvenile prisoners from Israeli jails, and urged Israel to end its retaliatory military offensive in the Palestinian territories.
The same three factions admitted carrying out the June 25 assault in which the soldier was seized and two other soldiers and two Palestinian fighters killed.
The militants said the abduction was to avenge the deaths of 22 Palestinian civilians killed in an alleged Israeli shelling and a series of botched air strikes.
- AFP
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