(Ha'aretz) Amos Harel and Jack Khoury - Israel does not intend to free Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the two Israeli nationals being held in Gaza, Israeli defense officials said Thursday. They said Israel sees the cases of Avera Mengistu and the Bedouin Israeli as humanitarian and expects Hamas to release them unharmed, as both sides have done in similar incidents in the past. Mengistu climbed over the security fence at an Ashkelon beach last September. He was reportedly detained and questioned by Hamas last year, and then released. The Israeli Arab who crossed at the Erez crossing in April was apparently taken into Hamas custody and is still being held.
2015-07-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive