Posted on 07/02/2006 2:35:45 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
DAMASCUS, Syria - Hamas' leaders in Syria insist they have nothing to do with the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier and hold no influence over his captors. Still, they have been changing homes and stopped using cell phones because of Israeli threats to target them.
Israel has accused the Islamic militant group's top leader, Khaled Mashaal, of being the brains behind the June 25 kidnapping and indicated he was a possible target for assassination.
"We take the Israeli threats seriously, and we know the occupation will not pass up the opportunity to get the movement's leadership," Osama Hamdan, Hamas' representative in Lebanon, told The Associated Press on Sunday. "We have taken precautions."
Since militants close to Hamas claimed responsibility for abducting 19-year-old Cpl. Gilad Shalit, attention has focused on what role was played by the Damascus-based political leadership of Hamas. What has added to the confusion is that Hamas now controls the Palestinian government.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, has called on Syrian President Bashar Assad to arrest Mashaal and close the militant group's office in the Syrian capital.
Hamas' political leaders have denied any role, saying that such attacks are planned by the group's military wing and that they have no influence or contact with its members. It's an argument Hamas has used since it began suicide attacks against Israel in the 1990s.
Yet Hamas officials admit several countries have contacted them as part of diplomatic efforts spearheaded by Egypt to win the soldier's release.
"We have a role because international parties get in touch with us," said Hamdan. "But we refer those parties to the people on the ground. We have no contact with those holding the prisoner."
A Palestinian official in Lebanon, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Hamas' political leadership lays broad guidelines — such as agreeing to a deal to defuse a crisis — but Shalit's captors would set the details for a settlement.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a political foe of Hamas, has said Egypt's efforts to mediate an end to the crisis were being hampered by confusion about who really has decision-making power on the Hamas side.
Hamdan disputed that assessment. He said negotiations had not borne any fruit because Israel rejected a deal in which Shalit would be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Egypt and Jordan urged Syria to use its influence with Hamas to help win Shalit's release. But Syria, according to Arab officials, said it could not do so while the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip continued.
In Cairo, an Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was talking to Assad, hoping he would persuade Hamas leaders to release the soldier. The officials said Egypt's chief of intelligence was talking directly to Mashaal.
Egypt proposed that the Israeli soldier be freed immediately and that in return Israel agree to release unspecified prisoners in the near future. But Hamdan said the militants wanted more than promises.
"The Palestinians have for years gotten guarantees that prisoners would be released but nothing would happen," he said.
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Associated Press writer Salah Nasrawi in Cairo, Egypt, contributed to this report.
Moussa Abu Marzouk, the deputy of Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal smiles during an interview with the Associated Press in Damascus on Wednesday, June 28, 2006. The senior Hamas official praised the capture of the Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants but said the political leadership didn't play any role in the kidnapping.(AP Photo Bassem Tellawi).
Khaled Mashaal, Hamas' Syria based leader waves in this Monday, June 19, 2006 file photo. An Israeli Cabinet minister said Wednesday June 28, 2006, that Mashaal, is a target for assassination for ordering the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip. 'He is definitely in our sights ... he is a target,' Justice Minister Haim Ramon told Army Radio. .(AP Photo Bassem Tellawi).
Hamas leaders know nothing, nothing (as Sgt Schultz would say) RRRRiiiggghhhttttt!!!! And pigs fly! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!
Is that a HellFiRe?
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh (L)and President Mahmoud Abbas inspect the damage to Haniyeh's office in Gaza City July 2, 2006. An Israeli helicopter fired a missile into the empty office of Haniyeh on Sunday in an apparent signal the Hamas leader could be targeted unless militants release an abducted soldier. REUTERS/Samuel Aranda/Pool (PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES)
A photograph of the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is seen among the damage to Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's office after Israeli helicopter missile attacks in Gaza city on July 2, 2006. Israeli forces killed at least one person in helicopter missile attacks on the Gaza City office of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and an office used by forces loyal to his governing party, witnesses said. (Ahmed Jadallah - PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES/Reuters)
The last thing every hamas leader should say.. "hey - what's that whistling sound?"
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