Hamas Lied?

You mean to tell me that the leader of a terrorist organization would lie to a reporter? Say it isn't so!

The father of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit said he has not been contacted by any of his son's kidnappers or their direct representatives, despite a recent statement from exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal.

Cpl. Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Palestinian militants on June 25, 2006.

Noam Shalit told CNN on Sunday that he has spoken to Hamas leaders, including former Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad, but has not been in touch with any "relevant" elements in Hamas.

The bottom line is that they kidnapped a soldier, lost TONS of militants to the ensuing war, and now they are holding onto this soldier because he's a symbol of that event. Were they to release Gilad, they would look like idiots in front of the world. They would have their own members say "well why did we make all these sacrifices during the mini war and then release him? Why didn't we just kill him right away?" and they'd be right.

However, unless something drastic happens like he escapes or is killed or is rescued, he'll be in Hamas custody for a good long while.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com