Palestinian militants holding 19-year-old Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit issued an ultimatum and threatened to kill their hostage by 6:00 AM Tuesday morning local time if their demands are not met.
In a fax sent to journalists, the kidnappers, which include the 'military' wing of Hamas, issued a statement saying, 'With the Zionist enemy's military aggressions, we give it until 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, July 4,' to meet our demands. 'If Israel doesn't respond to these demands, the file of the soldier will be closed and the enemy will be totally responsible for any future consequences,' the statement claims.
The militants demanded the release of all Palestinian females serving time in Israeli jails for terrorism charges as well as the release of all Palestinian prisoners under the age of 18.
Shalit was kidnapped on Sunday, June 25 during a raid into Israel by Palestinian militants. Two other Israelis were killed in the raid and Shalit was taken hostage.
As per its usual policy, Israel said it would not negotiate directly with terrorists. 'Israel will not surrender to extortion by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas government led by murderous, terrorist organizations,' Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in a statement. 'We will not conduct any negotiations to free prisoners.'
With the threat of death hanging over Shalit, Israeli forces entered the northern Gaza Strip in what Israel Defense spokesmen are calling a limited mission limited to finding tunnels and land mines. An underground tunnel was used in the raid in which Shalit was abducted.
