Mr Bagel: Kidnapped 3

Sunday, 8 April 2007

Whoops theres a little typo showing bias?

Sometimes an article is more interesting for what it doesn't say or even better what it accidently says!

Captors of Israeli soldier hand demands to Israel

2007/4/8
By KARIN LAUB,RAMALLAH, West Bank, AP

After months of deadlock, the captors of an Israeli soldier handed Israel the names of Palestinian prisoners they want freed in exchange for the hostage, a senior Palestinian official said Saturday.

The release of Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit is seen as a precondition for any possible progress in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. A swap could also help the new Palestinian unity government, a coalition of the Islamic militant Hamas and the moderate Fatah movement, in its quest for international acceptance.

[ Got to love how Fatah are now the 'moderates', gee I'd rather be killed by a moderate Fatah terrorist than a Hamas terrorists anyday... ]

Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti did not say how many names were on the kidnappers' list, which he said was forwarded to Israel by Egyptian mediators. Barghouti said the next move is up to Israel and that he hopes the swap will be carried out quickly.

[Is this an oxymoron? Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti did not say... ]

Israeli officials declined comment.

Shalit was captured 10 months ago by Hamas-allied militants who tunneled under the Gaza-Israel border, attacked an army post in Israel and snatched the soldier.

His captors initially demanded the release of 1,400 Palestinian prisoners, including women, minors and dozens of the longest-serving inmates. In all, some 9,300 Palestinian security prisoners are being held by Israel, one of the highest totals in 40 years of military occupation.

[Captured? Kidnapped would be just a little more correct]

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said he is willing, in principle, to release prisoners. However, the swap has been held up by disagreement over who should be freed. Israel balks at releasing those involved in attacks that killed or wounded Palestinians.

[Whoops.. move along folks, no bias showing here... ]

In recent weeks, there had been repeated reports that a list of names was handed to Israel. However, Barghouti's comments marked the first public confirmation. "If the Israeli government is serious, there is now a very good opportunity to end this chapter," Barghouti said.

Barghouti spoke after a special Cabinet meeting on reform of the Palestinian security services. He said the new interior minister presented a reform plan, but that another meeting would be held in a week.

Wrangling over control of the 85,000-strong security forces was a key reason for months of factional fighting that killed more than 140 Palestinians. Hamas and Fatah put off the thorny issue when they formed their government last month. At the center of the dispute is the fate of a 5,600-strong Hamas militia, formed a year ago as a counterweight to the security forces loyal to Fatah.

[ ... killed 140 Palestinians, where's the world out rage now? Lets just make it a little clearer the Palestinians killed 140 Palestinians, and these are the people we are supposed to negioate peace with? ]

Also Saturday, an Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed a Palestinian militant and wounded two. The Israeli military said it launched the strike after spotting the militants trying to plant a bomb. It said militants had planted explosives in the same area two days earlier.

The army said militants have planted more than 40 bombs along the border since Palestinian militants in Gaza and Israel agreed on a cease-fire in November.

[There's that word again Cease Fire, Israel ceases Fire and the Palestinians shoot hundreds of rockets, and plant bombs , where's the world outrage now?.. ]

The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a small militant group, said the militants were "on a holy mission" when they were hit by the Israeli force.

Israel says militants have been exploiting the lull to smuggle explosives, missiles and other weapons into Gaza through tunnels from neighboring Egypt.

During the truce, Palestinian militants have fired some 200 rockets into Israel, the army said, including two on Saturday. One of the rockets caused light damage to a building in the border town of Sderot, a common target of the militants. The army said there were no injuries.

Egypt's foreign minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit urged both sides to calm, condemning Israel's Saturday airstrike, and called on Palestinians to refrain from firing rockets.

[ Condemning : Israel ..... Refrain : Palestinians
Some one notice more bias from the Egyptian Foreign Minister? ]

Also Saturday, the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent Fatah offshoot, said one of its most well-known gunmen, Zakariya Zubeyd,i was shot in the shoulder during a gunbattle with Israeli forces in the northern West Bank city of Jenin. The group said Zubeydi was being treated at a private residence.

Israel's army confirmed it fired at a gunman in a battle in Jenin's refugee camp overnight, but said it did not know the identity of the target. Israel says Zubeydi has been involved in numerous attacks against Israelis, including deadly roadside shootings.

Zubeydi, a fluent Hebrew speaker, is often interviewed by the Israeli media. He is best known for his friendship with an Israeli woman, Tali Fahima, who was jailed for more than two years on charges she shared classified information with Zubeydi.

Somehow I think

"Israel balks at releasing those involved in attacks that killed or wounded Palestinians."

might be a rather revealing typo, what do you think?

Reference:
The China Post via AP: Captors of Israeli soldier hand demands to Israel

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Friday, 9 March 2007

Eight months in terrorist captivity as the World turns a blind eye.

10 March 2007

EIght months tommorrow, have passed since the unprovoked abduction of Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser on the Israeli side of the Lebanese border, and of Gilad Shalit on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza.
[Click Read More...]

EIght months have passed since the unprovoked abduction of Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser on the Israeli side of the Lebanese border, an action that precipitated widespread confrontation between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hizbullah terrorist organization. To date no word has been heard from the two captive soldiers, and neither their families nor the government of Israel have any knowledge of their whereabouts or their current state of health.

Two weeks prior to their abduction, another soldier, Gilad Shalit, was abducted as well, this time on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza. His family, too, anxiously awaits news from him. Especially grave is the fact that these unprovoked abductions were carried out on sovereign Israeli territory.

Taken from their families eight months ago, these captive soldiers are denied the most basic of human rights as enshrined in the Geneva Convention. In a gross breach of U.N. Resolution 1701, the terrorist organizations that carried out these abductions, and Syria and Iran who support them, behave as if these human rights are nothing more than a bargaining chip in their game of negotiation, refusing even to transmit messages to the captives from their families. International bodies who met with the captives' families have also tried to forward messages and letters, but they have been met with a negative response as well.

Neither Israel nor any other civilized, law abiding country can accept this situation. The World speaks of Human rights yet ignores the most basic rights of these kidnapped soldiers.

Gilad Shalit (20) was born on August 28, 1986. He is the son of Aviva and Noam Shalit and the brother of Yoel (23) and Hadas (16).

Gilad was born in Nahariya but was raised from the age of two in Mitzpe Hila in the western Galilee. He graduated with distinction from the science class of Manor Kabri High School. Gilad loves math and sports. He has enjoyed playing basketball ever since he was a child, but is interested in sports in general. He follows the different leagues and tournaments all over the world, from tennis and basketball to cycling and athletics. If you wish to know the results of a tournament somewhere in the world - it’s Gilad you should ask.

Gilad is a well-mannered, quiet and introverted young man. An almost permanent shy and hesitant smile light up his face. Gilad is always volunteering to help everyone.

Gilad began his military service about a year before his abduction - at the end of July 2005. Despite a low medical profile, he preferred to serve in a combat unit, followed his elder brother Yoel into the armored corps. After successfully ended his training, Gilad was guarding and ensuring the security of the settlements around Gaza when he was abducted by terrorists.

Since the attack at Kerem Shalom on Sunday, June 25, 2006, Gilad has been held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas.

Ehud (Udi) Goldwasser (31) was born in Nahariya on July 18, 1975. He is the son of Miki and Shlomo and elder brother of Yair (26) and Gadi (23). He married Karnit 10 months before his abduction.

Udi is a graduate of the science class in the Amal Comprehensive High School in Nahariya. He served in the combat battalion Zabar Givati. After his military service he toured Australia alone on a motorcycle for half a year. Later, he completed his preparatory studies in the Technion and went on to study environmental engineering.

Udi is a kind and much loved person. He is considerate of other people’s opinions even if they oppose his own. It’s fun being in his company. He is a loving and caring person, always ready to offer a helping hand in any situation. He is a man of principles and values, knowledgeable in many subjects. He loves movies, music and spending time with his friends. A motorcycle buff, he has encyclopedic knowledge of all models. As a child he sailed the seas with his father, and has recently got his skipper license for sailing yachts and was planning to sail abroad.

Conservation of the environment is of the utmost importance to Udi. Indeed, he joined a Green group to help clean our nature reserves. Udi loves animals, and although he suffers from a mild fur allergy, he lives with two cats and lovingly adopted an abandoned and injured dog he found in the street. Over the last few years he has developed a great interest in photography. He spends much of his spare time taking pictures of scenery and nature in Israel and abroad. Lately, his hobby has become a profession having begun to take on projects as a photographer.

On July 12, 2006 Udi was abducted to Lebanon after Hizbullah attacked his military patrol.

Eldad Regev (26) was born and raised in Kiryat Motzkin. He is the son of Zvi and the late Tova Regev, and brother of Benny, Ofer and Eyal.
Eldad completed his secondary education at the Yeshiva High School in Kiryat Shmuel. He excelled in biology and passed all his matriculation exams with ease. In spite of his mother Tova's untimely death when he was in the 12th grade, Eldad decided to serve in a combat unit and volunteered for the elite Givati infantry brigade. After his army service, like most of his friends, he traveled to the Far East. On his return he started to work while at the same time enrolling in Bar Ilan University's pre-law preparatory course with the aim of being accepted to the university's law faculty.

One of the qualities that makes Eldad so special is the kindness of his heart – never hesitating to donate and offer aid to anyone in need. Eldad made many friends throughout high school and during his army service, all of whom can attest to his fine qualities.

Among Eldad’s hobbies are football (last year he passed a coaching course - he is a fan of Maccabi Tel Aviv football team), music and books. A fanatic football fan, before being called up for reserve duty Eldad closely followed the World Cup games. He also went to the concert given by Roger Water (of Pink Floyd) in Kerem Shalom.

Eldad was called up for military reserve duty after completing his exams at the preparatory course in Bar Ilan University. Three days before his abduction he visited his family and participated in the annual memorial for his mother. Later, he watched the last game of the World Cup between Italy and France. The following day he returned to the complete the remainder of his reserve duty.

On July 12, 2006 Eldad was abducted and taken to Lebanon after Hizbullah attacked his military patrol.

References:
This article is substantially based on a previous article
Behind the Headlines: Six months in terrorist captivity
which is from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It is provided here to provide context to visitors of Mr Bagel.

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Thursday, 7 December 2006

Ehud Goldwasser's Father shows the kind of bravery that will defeat terrorism

Shlomo Godwasser and Ehud's recently married wife Karnit

Shlomo Goldwasser the father of Ehud Goldwasser who was kidnapped on July 12 2006 in an unprovoked act of hostility by Hezbollah, that essentially began the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon has bravely come out and stated to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert:

"If the sons aren't alive, there shouldn't be any deal at all."

The bravery of this man deserves the highest accolades. Can you image the pain this man and the rest of the family must be feeling yet he has the strength of spirit to know that not only will exchanging his son's body for the release of an untold number of prisoners be strategically bad, it will embolden Hezbollah and will cause more harm than good. His actions may well one day save other IDF soldiers from a similar fate.

It would seem Hezbollah thinks Israel doesn't see a differance between a kidnapped live soldier and a soldier that has deceased. We all know the depths Hezbollah will crawl to, Shlomo Goldwasser is staring into that abyss and saying No, enough.

His bravery will directly save untold numbers of Israeli's in the future from both acts of terrorism and further kidnap attempts.

Mr Goldwasser I can't begin to understand the compassion you must have.

To read more of this article click here and read the Arutz Sheva story.

Arutz Sheva: Goldwasser: If My Son is Dead, Don't Release Any Terrorists

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Friday, 10 November 2006

According to the London-based al-Hayat newspaper, PA National Security Advisor Jibril Rajoub blamed Hamas for preliminary contacts surrounding a prisoners' exchange involving kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

During a visit to Cairo, Rajoub said that Hamas' insistence on the release of specific prisoners and Israel's refusal to comply is the cause for the derailment of the process thus far. (Roee Nahmias)

[Click Mr Bagel to Read More]

BB: An interesting position to take for an organisation that supposedly had nothing to do with Shalit's Kidnapping or the attack on Kerem Shalom. Why all of a sudden is it vital that Hamas has input into which prisoners are released when they so openly and readily denied any responsibility for Shalit's kidnapping? Is it because the whole affair was just another case of a 'new' terrorist group called "We change our name on a weekly basis" to avoid having Hamas or the Palestinian Authority taking responsibility.

The recent press on the trelease of 'Prisoners with no blood on their hands' is bound to make this situation even more complex.

References:

Ynet.com: Hamas torpedoes Shalit negotiations
MFA: Kerem Shalom

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Thursday, 12 October 2006

Kites Flown on behalf of Captive Soldiers

Kites for soldiers, protests for Olmert

From Ynet:

Kites flown for kidnapped soldiers while terror victims' families protest at PM's house against release of prisoners

While thousands of families were flying kites in the Israeli sky Wednesday to express their hopes for the return of the three kidnapped IDF soldiers, families of terror victims protested in front of the home of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert against the release of prisoners in return for Corporal Gilad Shalit's freedom.

Above Right: The Goldwassers

[CLICK MR BAGEL TO READ MORE]

Thousands flocked to a kite flying festival organized by the Maccabi Tzair youth movement near the Golani junction in northern Israel as a show of solidarity for the three kidnapped soldiers Eldad Regev, Ehud Goldwasser, and Gilad Shalit.

Right: Gilad Schalit

Shlomo and Miki Goldwasser, parents of Eldad, participated in the event and said that "thousands of children arrived. It is unbelievable and very heartwarming.

Right: Ehud Goldwasser

We got so many calls from people of all ages to come and join them and we did so gladly." Shlomo Goldwasser added that despite the fact the issue of the kidnapped soldiers went down from the public's agenda, those who are tasked with releasing the soldiers are working day and night to find a solution.

Right: Eldad Regev

'Releasing prisoners will result in more kidnappings'

But not everyone was flying a kite this day. A group of families of victims of terrorist activities protested at the exact same time in front of the home of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with heavy hearts.

The demonstrators, all belonging to the Almagor Terror Victims' Organization were protesting against the government's intentions to release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the freedom of Gilad Shalit who is being held by a Palestinian terror organization in Gaza. The protesters claim that releasing prisoners will only result in more kidnappings and terror attacks.

Right: Almagor Terror Victims' Organization

Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Guttel and his wife Cecile told Ynet that their 15-year-old daughter Tamar was murdered in an attack in Jerusalem. After the terrorist was captured, he was released from jail in the framework of the Jibril prisoner exchange deal, and returned to kill two more tourists in the Old City of Jerusalem and now sells merchandise as a vendor near the Nablus Gate.

From Arutz Sheva:

(IsraelNN.com) Thousands of kites were flown on Wednesday at Golani Junction on behalf of three captive IDF soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev and Gilad Shalit.
While families of the captive soldiers were invited to attend the event sponsored by Young Maccabi, only Shlomo and Miki Goldwasser were in attendance.
“Kites symbolize freedom,” event organizers announced, hoping their effort brought a feeling of solidarity to the families of the soldiers who have been in captivity for over three months.

References:

Ynet: Kites for Soldiers,protests for Olmert

Arutz Sheva: Thousands of Kites Flown on Behalf of Captive Soldiers

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