The Hamas terrorist organization has blamed outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for the failure to reach an agreement for the return of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who is presumed to be alive and physically well.
Hamas spokesman Osana al-Muzini said the sticking point in negotiations was the Israeli demand to deport 10 terrorists who were responsible for the murders of more than 100 Israeli civilians and soldiers.
“The enemy is putting restrictions on the numbers of the prisoners,” according to the spokesman. "We will kidnap more Israeli soldiers to free our prisoners in Israeli jails."
Both Hamas and Olmert issued statements that drew different red lines. "We will not free other prisoners than those we agree to release,” said the Prime Minster. Hamas countered, “From the outset, we told them [Israel] that Hamas rejects [Israel’s] measures. When we stick to our demands, I think this doesn't make the demands harder or put obstacles” in the way of an agreement.
The Shalit family also blamed the outgoing Prime Minister. The soldier’s father, Noam, accused him of doing too little too late to bring back their son after nearly 1,000 days of captivity. "Instead of explaining why his efforts have failed, he should act energetically this time to achieve results," he said.
Israeli media, most of which has led a campaign instituted by the Shalit family and dovish academics to bring back Shalit “at any price,” also criticized the government as well as the IDF.
The Hebrew-language Haaretz Wednesday morning published an analysis by its correspondent Uri Blau stating that the Cabinet in November 2006 rejected a plea by then-IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz to reject a ceasefire agreement with Hamas unless it was conditioned on freeing Shalit.
Blau also said that the IDF did not invest enough effort in freeing the soldier, who was kidnapped in a Gaza crossing attack that killed two other soldiers.
Voice of Israel government radio questioned why Hamas prisoners serving prison sentences have been given benefits, including newspapers, Red Cross visits and even academic studies, during Shalit's captivity. Hamas has refused Red Cross requests to visit Shalit, a violation of the Geneva Convention on prisoners of war.
Channel 10 and Channel 1 television news analysts also said that Olmert has mis-managed efforts to free the abducted soldier.