Palestinians want Israeli swapped for prisoners

[Violet_Crumble]

GAZA (Reuters) - Families of Palestinians jailed in Israel demonstrated in Gaza on Monday to demand that militants holding an Israeli soldier hostage trade him for the release of their relatives.

The call could complicate diplomatic efforts to free Corporal Gilad Shalit, 19, who was seized on Sunday when gunmen from the ruling Hamas movement and other groups raided an army post near the southern Gaza Strip.

Israel has ruled out freeing any of the 9,000 Palestinians in its jails and threatened a major military offensive in response to the militant attack. Prisoners jailed for fighting Israel are widely seen as heroes by Palestinians.

"Kidnap one soldier and free 100 prisoners," chanted parents, friends and relatives of prisoners at a rally in Gaza.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/26/AR2006062600189.html

[Scorpio2000]

1. Three Cheers for the Gaza Peace Movement

100 to one!! The peaceful Gazans only have to kidnap 89 more Israelis!!

[sabbat hunter]

2. i see that hamas

has given up its militant ways and is solving issues thru peaceful kidnappings now. </sarcasm>

[cali]

3. and the Israelis are

solving issues by their peaceful shelling of densely populated Gaza?

I hope the Israelis do trade prisoners for this soldier, and that they refrain from reprisals.

[sabbat hunter]

5. what are they in prison for

are they charged with crimes or just being held?

if they are charged with crimes, then i see no reason to let them go. they should have their day in court, but not simply released.

you do not trade prisioners with people that were kidnapped. next the terrorists will kidnap others, and want to have major concessions.

you cannot negotiate with kidnappers. they are wrong.

[Violet_Crumble]

9. This is from 2003, but it will answer yr question...

At the time of writing, about 5,600 Palestinians are in Israeli custody for political reasons - there are also a few hundred common criminals.

The batch of about 350 prisoners released as a "goodwill gesture" by Israel on 6 August gives a good indication of the kind of activity many Palestinians are jailed for.

Membership of Hamas, Islamic Jihad or other Palestinian militant organisations, stone-throwing, assisting militant organisations or "wanted" Palestinians, firearms and explosives offences.


<snip>

Other categories of prisoners are easier to establish: about 75 are women, and 360 boys under the age of 18 who - controversially - are sometimes kept among the adult population.

The prison service says that of its 2,700 security prisoners, about 1,250 are being held on remand and 1,450 have been convicted.

The IDF holds 2,900 prisoners, including 970 who have been convicted and 1,400 on remand or arrested on judges' orders.

There are also at least 530 "administrative detainees" in IDF custody, who are held without charge or trial for renewable six-month terms.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3130623.stm

Despite any protestations to the contrary, the attack on the Israeli troops was not terrorism. Israeli troops are combatants and military targets are legitimate targets. To claim otherwise is to ignore the fact that calling attacks on Israeli military targets terrorism is showing a double standard to then claim that Israeli attacks on Palestinian military targets are legitimate and not terrorism....

[Phx_Dem]

8. apparently the Palestinians are so sure that prisoners

will be traded, now they want women and children released before they release information about the IDF soldier. Olmert has rejected the offer.

[Englander]

4. Demands set for captured Israeli

Militant groups in Gaza have demanded the release of Palestinian children and women from Israeli jails before giving information about a missing soldier.

It is the first such statement since the suspected abduction of Israeli tank gunner Gilad Shalit during clashes on the Gaza border on Sunday morning.

The signatories included the armed wing of the governing party Hamas.

>snip

Israel is believed to have incarcerated about 100 women and 300 under-18s among the 9,000 Palestinian prisoners it is holding in its jails.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5118278.stm

[sabbat hunter]

6. the group that did the kidnapping

is made up with known terrorist organizations. (hamas, islamic jihad, popular resistance)

the fact that they have demanded the release of the prisioners before even releasing information about the solider is terrrible. what will be next?

[Phx_Dem]

7. Israel rejects demand

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel rejected on Monday a demand by Palestinian militants to free Palestinian women and minors in its jails in exchange for information on a kidnapped Israeli soldier and threatened a punishing offensive in the Gaza Strip.

"The question of releasing prisoners is not on the agenda of the Israeli government at all," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in a speech in Jerusalem.

"The time is approaching for a comprehensive, sharp and severe Israeli operation. We will not wait forever," he said. "We will not become a target of Hamas-terrorist blackmail."

Izz el-Deen al-Qassam, the governing Hamas movement's armed wing, along with the Popular Resistance Committees and the Islamic Army said Israel would not get information about the soldier unless it frees all jailed Palestinian women and minors

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060626/ts_nm/mideast_dc_42

"Military Statement 1," issued by the three groups, did not confirm directly they were holding Corporal Gilad Shalit, kidnapped in a cross-border raid by militants operating from Gaza on Sunday, nor give details of his condition.

They won't admit to the kidnapping, wonder why?