Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal vowed Monday at a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria that the terrorist group would kidnap more IDF soldiers in order to free operatives jailed in Israel.
The Damascus-based terror leader complained to reporters on the eve of Israel's 62nd Independence Day celebrations that the Jewish State is dragging its heels on a deal to trade terrorist prisoners for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
Shalit was abducted on June 25, 2006 in a cross-border raid carried out by operatives from three Hamas-linked terror groups on an IDF base near the Kerem Shalom Crossing. At least one of the groups, the Army of Islam, also has ties to the international al-Qaeda terrorist organization. Shalit's condition and whereabouts remain unknown, although it is believed that he is alive and being hostage held somewhere in Gaza.
For several years following his abduction, Egyptian officials and others had tried to broker a prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel. Each time a deal appeared imminent, Hamas backed away. The most recent attempt, in November 2009, was brokered by Egypt and Germany and would have involved the release of more than a thousand jailed terrorists, hundreds of whom were convicted of murdering Israelis.
Israel agreed to release nearly all of them, but drew the line at releasing a handful who were serving multiple life sentences for masterminding terror attacks and especially brutal murders.
Mashaal also blamed the United States for the most recent failure of Palestinian Authority reconciliation talks between Hamas and the rival Fatah faction which rules the PA-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria. Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007, which has since been governed separately by the terrorist faction.