Awesome. The last child murdering cretin that they swapped immediately went back to training with Hezbollah. So you know this is going to work out great:
The Saudi newspaper Ukaz on Thursday quoted a Palestinian source as saying that Israel has relayed to Hamas it is ready to release all the Palestinian prisoners the militant group demands in return for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. According to the source, top Israeli negotiator Amos Gilad has informed Egypt of Israel’s intention to hand over the prisoners. Israel Radio reported Thursday that Amos Gilad, a senior Defense Ministry official, denied the report, calling it completely untrue… The sources said Hamas is insisting Israel agree to release prisoners “with blood on their hands.”
The gut instinct here is to link Hamas’s demands to Olmert’s weakness on Kuntar, which is certainly how Hamas is spinning it. Except that Hamas was always going to stick to their demands. The Kuntar swap just gives them a particularly obnoxious excuse.
Hamas has already promised to launch more abductions if Shalit is freed. They’ve also promised to launch more abductions if Shalit is not freed. So yeah, I think they’re planning to launch more abductions – ergo the new tunnels they’ve been digging under the Israeli border.
On a slightly different note: some of the prisoners on Hamas’s list are Palestinian Authority parliamentarians. Their release means that Hamas will formally control the West Bank, a situation which will be used to coerce Israel diplomatically – “you’re the ones who enabled the unity government, how can you say that you’re not going to negotiate with them?” Unsurprisingly, that will also be an anti-Israel fabrication: Abbas is going to have to cede the West Bank to Hamas in January anyway, just in time for a newly inaugurated President Obama to begin negotiating with them.
This is a total disaster, with this being the only potential bright spot. A very, very dim potential bright spot. More of a dot than a spot, actually.
References:
* Video: Released terrorist Samir al-Kuntar back to weapons training [Israel Matzav]
* Report: Israel ready to free all prisoners Hamas demands for Shalit [Ha'aretz]
* Sources: Hamas has raised price of Shalit deal in wake of Kuntar release [Ha'aretz]
* Hamas reportedly ups ante for Schalit [JPost]
* Hamas: If Israel Frees Kidnapped Soldier Then We’ll Kidnap More Soldiers (Plus: Prisoner Release Will Bring Down Abbas?) [MR]
* Hamas official: Abductions to continue [JPost]
* Gaza’s Booming Economy – Underground Mall System, Hundreds Of Supermarkets, Latest Fashions (Plus: New Gaza Tunnel Wasn’t For Smuggling) [MR]
* Israel to accept Hamas prisoner list, says source [YNet]
* Fatah To Politically Cede West Bank, Palestinian Authority To Hamas (Plus: Remember Obama’s Magical “I Only Negotiate With Terrorist States” Threshold?) [MR]
* Hamas: Forget Schalit if leaders are hit [JPost]
Previously:
* Hamas Continues Long Tradition Of "Shaking" And "Threatening" And "Endangering" Ceasefire By Firing Dozens Of Rockets At Israeli Schools And Hospitals
* Of Course: Obama Supported The 2006 Hamas Election, Biden Lied
* Iran: Of Course Sunnis And Shiites Cooperate, Iran Will Never Abandon Hamas
