Israel upps the ante on the missing soldier:
Its about time:
Lieberman: Haniyeh will be target if Shalit not returned now
By Yoav Stern and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service
Minister of Strategic Threats Avigdor Lieberman on Sunday warned Hamas officials that they would pay with their lives if captured Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit is not returned to Israel immediately, Army Radio reported.
"If the soldier is not returned immediately, [Palestinian Prime Minister] Ismail Haniyeh and [Foreign Minister] Mahmoud Zahar can join the company of the shahids," Lieberman said, using the name given to suicide bombers.
In response to Lieberman's threats, Defense Minister Amir Peretz told the London-based Daily Telegraph that "these words cause unnecessary agitation. The government needs to censure them."
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Labor MK Ophir Pines-Paz met Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Sunday to discuss Shalit's release. Abbas told Pines-Paz that he views the issue with utmost importance.
Abbas also said during the meeting that he is optimistic a technocratic Palestinian unity government will be formed soon.
Defense sources: Gaza action does not endanger Shalit's life
Unnamed senior defense establishment officials said Sunday they believed it unlikely that Shalit's captors would put him in a vulnerable position, according to the radio.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Zahar said Saturday that the Israel Defense Forces operations in the Gaza Strip are liable to endanger Shalit's life, as the military is likely to strike the building in which he is being held.
In an interview with an Egyptian news agency, Zahar said, "They are bombing certain places and will likely harm the soldier." He said that if IDF troops try to break into the building where Shalit is located, "they are liable to lose the soldier, to absorb losses and lose more captives."
However, the Popular Resistance Committees, one of the groups holding Shalit, said there are no plans to kill the captured soldier, but that he could be harmed by the IDF operation.
"Gilad Shalit's life is in danger through the incursion and bombing of houses," said Abu Mujahid, a spokesman for the group.
The militant group said in Gaza that the military operation jeopardized prospects for the safe release of Shalit, captured by Hamas-allied militants in June.
A spokesman for the group, using the alias Abu Abir, also said Israel would face a wave of suicide bombings if the offensive was not halted within two days.
Deputy Knesset Speaker MK Ahmed Tibi (United Arab List) met with Zahar of Hamas in Cairo on Friday.
The two discussed the status of relations between Hamas and Fatah, as well as ways to resolve to crisis in the Palestinian Authority.
"The best way to solve any internal Palestinian problem is dialogue and moving away from internal violence," said a summing up statement issued by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry.
Tibi and Zahar also discussed the addition of Yisrael Beiteinu to the coalition. According to the Palestinian Foreign Ministry statement, the addition is a "grave move" that will have consequences, calling Lieberman a "radical."
They also discussed the general political situation in Israel.
An official in Tibi's party confirmed the report of the meeting, the first of an Israeli lawmaker with a senior member of Hamas.
Security officials have rejected requests by Arab MKs to enter the Gaza Strip to meet with Hamas officials.
Earlier this week, Tibi met in Cairo with Farouk Kaddoumi, PLO's political department head. They discussed Israel's military operation in Gaza and called on the international community to intervene in order to end the operation.
Tibi also met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit who informed Tibi that Egypt is working to achieve a swift resolution to the issue of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, held captive in Gaza.
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