Hamas officials are confident that Israel will give in to its demands to release senior terrorist prisoners. Meanwhile, Israeli defense officials say Hamas is moving toward an internal split, while arming other groups.
Officials in Hamas, the terrorist organization which leads the Palestinian Authority government, said that “perseverance” would win the release of hundreds of Arab terrorists, some serving multiple consecutive life terms for the murders of Israeli men, women and children.
Hamas officials said Israel initially rejected the idea of a prisoner swap in exchange for kidnapped IDF Cpl Gilad Shalit but eventually gave in, and predicts the Jewish State and will give in on the matter of releasing killers as well.
The terrorist group angrily denounced the French government, which called on Hamas to release Shalit, who also holds French citizenship. Hamas compared its own attacks against Israel to the French resistance against Nazi Germany in World War II.
Hamas officials threatened to treat any other French national the same way – and in fact, a photographer working for the Agence France-Press (AFP) news agency was kidnapped by the terror group almost four months ago. Jaime Razuri, a Peruvian national working for the French news agency, was released a week later.
Meanwhile, Israeli defense officials recently warned that the Hamas faces a split within its own group, according to Haaretz newspaper. Some 200 armed members from the terror group demonstrated this week against the PA government’s intentions to unify security sources.
The split within Hamas could further endanger negotiations for Shalit's release, they said, and could complicate future contacts with the Palestinian Authority.
Defense officials said that a split could be three-way. One branch would be headed by Hamas arch-terrorist Khaled Mashaal, who resides in Damascus. Mashaal wants to be the next Arafat, the officials said, and to gain complete control of the PA.
A second group would be headed by Ahmed Jabri, a senior Hamas terrorist in Gaza. The third group would be headed by Said Siam, a former PA minister who has criticized Mashaal and PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas for agreeing to share control of the PA with rival terrorist group Fatah, headed by Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Security sources also said that Hamas, which says it backs the Gaza "ceasefire," is simultaneously arming Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups with long-range rockets.
Officials in Hamas, the terrorist organization which leads the Palestinian Authority government, said that “perseverance” would win the release of hundreds of Arab terrorists, some serving multiple consecutive life terms for the murders of Israeli men, women and children.
Hamas officials said Israel initially rejected the idea of a prisoner swap in exchange for kidnapped IDF Cpl Gilad Shalit but eventually gave in, and predicts the Jewish State and will give in on the matter of releasing killers as well.
The terrorist group angrily denounced the French government, which called on Hamas to release Shalit, who also holds French citizenship. Hamas compared its own attacks against Israel to the French resistance against Nazi Germany in World War II.
Hamas officials threatened to treat any other French national the same way – and in fact, a photographer working for the Agence France-Press (AFP) news agency was kidnapped by the terror group almost four months ago. Jaime Razuri, a Peruvian national working for the French news agency, was released a week later.
Meanwhile, Israeli defense officials recently warned that the Hamas faces a split within its own group, according to Haaretz newspaper. Some 200 armed members from the terror group demonstrated this week against the PA government’s intentions to unify security sources.
The split within Hamas could further endanger negotiations for Shalit's release, they said, and could complicate future contacts with the Palestinian Authority.
Defense officials said that a split could be three-way. One branch would be headed by Hamas arch-terrorist Khaled Mashaal, who resides in Damascus. Mashaal wants to be the next Arafat, the officials said, and to gain complete control of the PA.
A second group would be headed by Ahmed Jabri, a senior Hamas terrorist in Gaza. The third group would be headed by Said Siam, a former PA minister who has criticized Mashaal and PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas for agreeing to share control of the PA with rival terrorist group Fatah, headed by Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Security sources also said that Hamas, which says it backs the Gaza "ceasefire," is simultaneously arming Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups with long-range rockets.
