Most Hamas leaders, in what may a continuation of psychological warfare, claim that they have no idea where kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is or what his condition is, senior Hamas terrorist Osama al-Muzeini declared Friday. “We don't know if he is wounded, alive or dead,” he said.
Muzeini told the Hebrew-language daily Yediot Aharonot that only a select few members of the Hamas military leadership have information regarding Shalit. Other senior members of the group are not allowed contact with the kidnapped soldier for security reasons, he explained.
Muzeini is the group's official head of the “Shalit portfolio.”
His statements were made in part as a response to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who recently told President Shimon Peres that Shalit is in good condition. Mubarak's assurance “was public relations more than a statement based on true information,” Muzeini said.
Shalit's fate will be revealed only if and when Israel agrees to meet Hamas' conditions and carry out a prisoner swap, he continued. Hamas has demanded that Israel release all female terrorists in Israeli prisons and more than 1,000 male terrorists, many of them senior Hamas members guilty of multiple counts of murder.
Muzeini denied reports that Shalit's release is near. Such reports are “Zionist psychological warfare,” he charged.
Hamas has refused to alter its demands in any way. In the meantime, it has held Shalit incommunicado, and has not provided visits with the Red Cross or other such groups as required by international law. It frequently has used Shalit's captivity as a tool to stir up emotions among the soldier's family, which along with media have conducted several campaigns to try to free hundreds of terrorists in exchange for him.
Talks to Resume?
While Hamas insisted that it would not negotiate its terms, Egyptian officials announced that negotiations would resume in the near future. Egyptian-mediated talks for Shalit's release took place, unsuccessfully, under former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government.
Officials told the pan-Arab daily Al Hayyat that talks for Shalit's release would restart soon. Senior Israeli defense official Amos Gilad discussed the matter in a recent meeting with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, they said.