GAZA CITY: Hamas yesterday blamed Israel for the failure to reach a deal on a prisoners exchange between itself and the outgoing government of Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert, calling on Egypt to officially declare it responsible.
“Israel is the one which is fully responsible for the collapse of the talks,” Salah Al-Bardawil, Hamas’ parliamentary bloc spokesman, told a news conference in Gaza.
He said Hamas had not changed the demands it had listed from the outset in exchange for freeing Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held captive in Gaza since June 2006. “We didn’t add anything new,” he said in response to Olmert’s charge that it had raised its demands.
“We put the entire responsibility for blocking a deal on the enemy government,” Ezzedine Al-Qassam brigades said in a statement. “If we have to change our position, it will be to increase our demands and not the other way around,” it said.
Shalit’s captors “insist that 450 prisoners with long sentences should be released as a first stage, then children, women, lawmakers and ministers (of Hamas) would be freed in a second stage.”
“We call on our prisoners and our people to be more patient to face the Israeli threats.”
Salah Al-Bardweel, a spokesman for the movement said: “Hamas will not give up or change its demands in the swap deal.”
However, Israel has reservations on tens of those prisoners accused of being involved in attacks that have killed many Israelis.
Al-Qassam brigades said in a statement that the recent motion on captive Israeli soldier’s case was only an internal Israeli maneuver to calm down the public.
“In fact, there were no new offers indicating any intention to accomplish the swap,” the statement added.
Israel claims Shalit was about to be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians, but Hamas increased and hardened its demands and conditions at the last moment.
Meanwhile, an Israeli ministerial committee convened yesterday to discuss ways of worsening the conditions in prison of Hamas detainees following the collapse of talks.
The committee, headed by Justice Minister Daniel Friedman, decided to create work teams to “examine the reduction of the privileges of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners,” the ministry said in a statement.
Among the steps being considered are limiting cash transfers to prisoners, restricting their access to television and radio, reducing visiting rights and opportunities for education as well as limiting contact between the prisoners.
Another measure is further tightening Israel’s punishing blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, the ministry said. “The committee will finalize its discussions within two weeks and will decide on
— With input from agencies
