Meshaal insists on prisoner swap to free "Israeli" soldier, 3 Palestinian teenagers among 8 killed in Gaza

Daily Star, 11-7-2006
Exiled Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal said Monday that an abducted "Israeli" soldier captured would not be freed without a prisoner swap, but pledged his life would be protected. "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said a swap would be a "major mistake." Eight Palestinians, including three teenagers, were killed on Monday as "Israel" pounded Gaza with deadly air strikes despite international criticism.
In a rare news conference at a hotel in Damascus, Meshaal insisted the Palestinians "are united on the insistence to swap the captured soldier with prisoners in the jails of the Zionist enemy."
"We have told mediators and those who made political efforts [to end the crisis] we support the peaceful, calm handling of this matter but you need to understand the needs of the Palestinian people," added Meshaal, making his first public appearance since Hamas and allied fighters seized the soldier in a cross-border raid into "Israel" on June 25.
"They talk about one soldier, we have 10,000 detainees, including 400 minors and 120 women ... this is why we are seeking a prisoner exchange," he said.
"The solution is simple: swap. But "Israel" rejects this. The mediators in Europe know this, but they are incapable," he said.
But Meshaal insisted the soldier would be kept alive.
"Our values require us to protect his life," he said. The soldier was "taken prisoner in a clean military operation which targeted "Israeli" military servicemen and not civilians, so the laws of prisoners of war are applicable."
Dispelling media reports of a likely deal with Hamas, Olmert said: "Trading prisoners with a "terrorist", bloody organization such as Hamas is a major mistake that will cause a lot of damage to the future of the state of "Israel"."
"Meshaal is a terrorist with blood on his hands and he is not a legitimate partner. I will not negotiate with Hamas, I don`t negotiate with Hamas and I did not negotiate with Hamas," Olmert said. He also rejected international criticism of the Gaza offensive, saying operations to press militants to free the soldier and end Palestinian rocket fire would go on indefinitely.
Olmert said "Israel" is not trying to topple the Palestinian government, though he said Hamas leaders are "directly involved in terror." His government abducted dozens of Hamas political figures after the soldier`s capture.
He also reaffirmed his commitment to his plan to redraw the Jewish settlement map in the occupied West Bank unilaterally in the absence of peace talks with the Palestinians, but acknowledged "this will be difficult."
Meshaal said the "Israeli" campaign would fail despite the Jewish state`s overwhelming military superiority.
"You want to liquidate the Palestinian people and place them on the margins of history ... you will fail," Meshaal said, addressing his remarks to "Israel".
"No people were ever liberated because they had a military power equal to or superior to the enemy. They won because they had the will and persistence."
Meshaal said efforts to resolve the crisis involving Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and European countries "have been blocked by "Israeli" obstinacy."
""Israel" says it does not exchange prisoners ... but it did with [Lebanon`s] Hizbullah," which made several prisoner exchanges with "Israel" after German-brokered negotiations.
President Mahmoud Abbas left for Jordan on a last-minute visit Monday night, Palestinian officials said. Officials did not disclose the reason for the trip.
Arab League chief Amr Moussa was also in Damascus Monday for talks with Meshaal.
Meshaal shrugged off concerns for his safety.
"Death comes with God`s will. I have had enough from life ... and I long to meet God," he said. On the ground, three Palestinian teenagers, whom local medical sources said were unarmed, died and another four people were wounded in the latest in a series of "Israeli" air strikes in Gaza Monday evening.
Witnesses said the victims were playing soccer close to an area where militants had fired makeshift rockets toward "Israel" a short time earlier.
Two militants from Hamas` armed wing and two from Islamic Jihad were killed in earlier strikes, and at least another 12 bystanders hurt. An eighth Palestinian died of his wounds from "Israeli" fire elsewhere in Gaza.