De facto gov. rejects Red Cross request to visit captured soldier
Date: 19 / 06 / 2009 Time: 19:25
www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38681

Gaza - Ma'an - The de facto government in Gaza's Ministry of Prisoners'
Affairs was astonished on Friday that the International Red Cross has asked
Hamas to allow captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit regular contact with
his family.

In a statement to Ma'an, the ministry said that the Red Cross' demand came
while "Gaza prisoners have been continuously deprived family visits for more
than two years, which has negatively affected their living and psychological
situation."

The International Committee of the Red Cross has continuously backed calls
for the captors of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit to return him to Israel, or
at the least allow him regular contact with either his family or
international workers who examine prison conditions. Hamas has generally
refused, citing security reasons.

"In addition, the [Red Cross] was unable to deliver message from Palestinian
families to prisoners from Gaza, claiming they can't pressure Israel on this
issue," the statement noted.

"Under what pretext of international law is it that the Red Cross can demand
that Hamas allow Shalit to contact his family?" the the de facto government
ministry asked. "Did the Red Cross denounce the [Israeli] occupation for its
daily violations of international law against Palestinian prisoners, who are
deprived from every human right?"

"At the least, stated international conventions demand that the sick aren't
denied necessary medical treatment; instead, they die slowly due to medical
negligence," the statement went on to say.

The ministry also denounced international organizations' calls for better
treatment of "this single Israeli captive," demanding that they show that
they "care about the situation of 11,000 Palestinian prisoners, against whom
everything is banned and international crimes are committed."

"Israel is continuously bypassing international conventions to legitimize
crimes being committed, including the deprivation of visitations, imposing
an orange uniform by force and implimenting the 'illegal combatant' law,"
the statement noted.

The ministry concluded by calling on the international community and human
rights organizations to stop so-called double-standard policies that urge
Hamas to meet demands concerning Shalit but stop at demanding Israel ease
living conditions of its thousands of Palestinian prisoners.

On Thursday, de facto Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said he was
eager to exchange prisoners with Israel, saying that his Hamas-led
government "is keen to conclude an honorable swap deal that would guarantee
releasing Palestinian prisoners jailed in the Israeli prisons, most
importantly lawmakers."

This came in a message in which he congratulated Palestinian Legislative
Council (PLC) Speaker Aziz Dweik on Wednesday's Israeli court decision to
release him from prison in August. Dweik has been held along with more than
40 other lawmakers since 2006.

"This decision comes to correct a wrong situation since the arrest was an
attempt to thwart Palestinian legitimacy," Haniyeh said of the ruling.

Israel seized the lawmakers originally in an attempt to pressure Hamas to
release Shalit, who was captured in 2006 by Palestinian fighters from Gaza.
Any potential prisoner swap would likely involve the release of hundreds of
Palestinian prisoners.