Israel can forget about kidnapped IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Schalit if it goes ahead with its threats to assassinate the political leaders of Hamas, a senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip warned Monday.
The official, who was speaking to The Jerusalem Post by phone, said he was confident that the armed wing of Hamas, Izaddin al-Kassam, would "not remain idle" if Israel assassinated Ismail Haniyeh or Mahmoud Zahar. "The assassination of our political leaders will have serious repercussions on the case of Schalit," he said. "Israel must know that there are red lines that should not be crossed. If Israel decides to carry out its threats, it will have to forget about Schalit forever."
The Hamas official pointed out that negotiations to release Schalit have been suspended temporarily because of the crisis that erupted between his movement and Egypt in the past few weeks. |