BICOM

Hamas yesterday rejected a request by the International Red Cross to prove that captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is still alive. Hamas member Salah Bardawi said that Israel requested this information from the Red Cross in order to find out where Shalit is located in order to carry out a rescue operation. Bardawi said the only way for Israel to receive information on Shalit was to release Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. The Red Cross expressed concern over Shalit’s situation and said that under international law his family should be allowed to be in contact with him.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that he would toughen the conditions on Palestinian security prisoners in Israel in order to apply pressure on Hamas to release captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. He did not specify the steps the government would take to alter confinement conditions but noted that he has cancelled the “absurd” protocol allowing terrorists to enroll in academic studies. “There will be no more doctorates of terror,” he said.

The Prime Minister’s Office has consulted several legal and security experts to ensure that any changes to the policy towards incarcerated terrorists is done in accordance to international standards and is within Israeli law, and will not stir up unrest.

This Saturday, June 25, marks the fifth anniversary of the kidnap of Gilad Shalit, who has since been held by Hamas in Gaza.