Hamas Activist Offers to Exchange Israeli Soldier’s Body for Prisoners

A Hamas activist wanted by the Israeli authorities says he has information on the whereabouts of the body of an Israeli soldier who was kidnapped and murdered by members of the Islamic fundamentalist group five years ago.

Abed Rabbo Abu Hussa said last week that Hamas is ready to enter negotiations to return the body of Ilan Sa’adon in exchange for the return of Palestinian prisoners.

This week, the Hamas activist followed up on the offer by sending a fax to the Sa’adon family’s lawyer, Amir Avrahami, in which he asked if Israel was willing to negotiate.

“Tell your government that I am the only one who can deal with you,” the fax said. “I am in a safe place, and you won’t catch me alive. But if I die, I will die with all the information I know on Sa’adon.”

Part of the two-page document was illegible, and it was unclear from where the fax originated.

Israeli security sources dismissed Abu Hussa’s claim, saying he was a “liar” and was “low” on the wanted list.

The fax did not mention previous Hamas demands for the release of Palestinian prisoners, including the longstanding demand for the freedom of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the founder of the Islamic fundamentalist Hamas movement.

Earlier this month, Yassin called on his followers to reveal the burial place of Sa’adon.

Yassin, who is serving a life sentence in an Israeli jail for ordering the deaths of Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel, brought up the issue of the missing soldier during a meeting earlier this month with two Palestinian leaders.

Dr. Ahmed Tibi, a close adviser to Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat, and Sheikh Abdullah Nimir Darwish, the head of the Islamic movement in Israel, had met with Yassin to see if he would turn over Sa’adon’s body in exchange for his release.

Hamas officials have long been calling for the release of Yassin, a move Israel has repeatedly refused to make.