Hamas rattles saber over prisoners

Hamas threatened to escalate violence against Israel unless it
releases hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. A spokesman for the governing
Palestinian Authority faction, Ismail Radwan, said Saturday that it could
kidnap more Israelis and resume suicide bombings unless the Jewish state cedes to its demand for a release of 1,400 security prisoners. “It is our
duty to solve the problem of the prisoners by all means and methods – by
kidnapping soldiers, suicide attacks, at any price and by any legitimate
means,” Radwan said in a speech in Gaza.Hamas gunmen were among those who
abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit to Gaza last June. Israel has so
far balked at the list of prisoners that the Palestinians want released in
exchange for the captive.