Mashaal Says No to European Mediation
CBNNews.com
January 6, 2008
CBNNews.com - During a rally in Damascus marking Hamas's 20th anniversary, exiled terror chief Khaled Mashaal turned down an offer by unnamed Europeans to mediate a truce with Israel.
"Some Europeans offered to meet us indirectly with Israelis to discuss a truce, and we told them no and a thousand no's," Mashaal said.
Responding to Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's call Monday for reconciliation between the two rival factions, Mashaal said Hamas was ready to talk without preconditions.
"We are ready for dialogue without conditions," he said, alluding to the PA chairman's call for Hamas to cede control of the Gaza Strip and apologize for June's military coup.
Mashaal also said captured Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit's release would be mandated by Israel's release of Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas has held Shalit captive for a year and a half, following a cross-border attack on an IDF outpost near the Gaza border. Two soldiers were killed, three wounded, and Shalit kidnapped in the attack.
"The prisoner issue bloodies our heart," said Mashaal. "Gilad Shalit will not be released unless our prisoners are released," he said.
According to Army Radio, Fatah Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti, serving five consecutive life sentences for murder, is on the Hamas list of prisoners to be exchanged for Shalit.
Mashaal said "resistance" is the Palestinian people's only choice.
Sources: The Associated Press, The Jerusalem Post
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