First info on abducted soldier
2006-06-27 18:51
Gaza City - A Palestinian militant leader on Tuesday said a captured Israeli soldier was being held in a "secure place" and he claimed that his group also seized a Jewish settler in the West Bank.
The new claims about captive Israelis came from the Popular Resistance Committees, a violent group with close ties to the Hamas-led Palestinian government.
The PRC was one of three groups that took part in Sunday's cross-border infiltration near Gaza in which militants killed two Israeli soldiers and abducted Gilad Shalit.
"The soldier is in a secure place that the Zionists cannot reach," PRC spokesperson Mohammed Abdel Al said.
It was the first acknowledgment by militants that Shalit was still alive.
Wounded
The kidnappers have not said where the 19-year-old soldier is being held or released any photos of him.
Israeli officials believe Shalit was wounded and is being held in southern Gaza.
Abdel Al also said his group had taken a Jewish settler in the West Bank hostage.
Israel Radio reported the settler had been hitchhiking on Monday night and failed to return home.
"We're looking into reports of a missing person," police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said.
Abdel Al said the release of more information would depend on Israel.
"The Zionists are looking for any information. We remind them there is nothing for free," he said in Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has rejected a demand to release Palestinian prisoners in return for information about Shalit.
Instead, he approved plans for a large military push into Gaza and threatened to hit Islamic militants and their leaders.
Awaiting orders
About 3 000 troops, along with tanks and armoured vehicles, massed along Israel's border with Gaza.
Commanders said they were prepared and awaiting orders to move in.
"We will not hold back on our efforts, and to our great sorrow, part of this price will be paid by the residents of the Gaza Strip," Haim Ramon, a senior Israeli cabinet minister, told army radio.
"This strike will come and it will be very painful. In order to stop this, I call on authorities in the Palestinian Authority to do all they can to bring Gilad home."
US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice urged Israel to "give diplomacy a chance".
"There really needs to be an effort now to try and calm the situation," Rice said en route to Pakistan.
Crossings closed
Israel clamped a tight closure on Gaza that prevented merchants from leaving the area and fishermen from sailing off the Mediterranean coast, the army said.
It closed all crossings into Gaza.
Hundreds of Palestinians were stranded on the Egyptian side of the border at the Palestinian-controlled Rafah crossing, said the director of security at the Palestinian crossings, Salim Abu Safiah.
Anticipating an invasion, Palestinian militants piled up sand on roads near the border and in Gaza City.
"We are ready to confront any stupid act that the Zionists might commit," said Abu Obeida, spokesperson for Hamas' military wing.
The group also claimed that militants from various factions had taken up positions throughout northern Gaza.
Egypt
The moderate Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, met with leaders of the Hamas-led government on Monday night and urged them to secure Shalit's release.
Abbas also has been working closely with Egyptian mediators, who hold influence over Hamas.
Egyptian officials said the government asked Hamas to release the soldier and has deployed 2 500 extra troops along the border with Gaza to prevent an influx of Palestinians if Israel invades.
Egypt also imposed a nighttime curfew on residents along the border.
Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman has urged Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who is in Syria, to push for Shalit's release, the officials said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
Participants said Monday's Palestinian meeting was tense and that Abbas told the Hamas leaders they would be responsible for any Israeli reprisals.
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said he did not have any information about the soldier, the participants said.
Demands
The militants holding Shalit issued their first demands on Monday.
The groups, which included Hamas's military wing and two offshoots of the PRC, said Israel should release all jailed Palestinian women and children under 18 in return for information about Shalit.
Officials estimate there are 500 such prisoners.
The issue of the estimated 8 000 prisoners held by Israel is extremely sensitive in Palestinian society.
Ordinary Palestinians have expressed overwhelming support for the kidnappers, saying the soldier should not be freed without the prisoners' release.
- AP