Hamas official urges Palestinians to kidnap Israelis April 17, 2012 - 19:51 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A senior Hamas official called on Palestinian militants on Tuesday, Aril 17 to kidnap Israeli soldiers in order to exchange them for Palestinians captured by Israel, RIA Novosti reported. Izzat al-Rishq’s statement posted on his Facebook page repeated yesterday’s call by Hamas' prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniya. It came as Palestinians mark the Prisoners' Day in solidarity with Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Al-Rishq said in his post releasing Palestinians captured by Israel was as important for Hamas as the liberation of the occupied Palestinian territories. Over 7,000 Palestinians are believed to have been held in Israeli jails over armed attacks on Israeli troops and civilians. Most of them are members of Hamas and its rival faction Fatah ruling the West Bank. Earlier on Tuesday, more than 1,600 jailed Palestinians declared an open-ended hunger strike in protest against their arrest and conditions in which they are being held, local media reported. Another 2,300 prisoners said they would not eat for one day. Last October, Hamas released its most high-profile Israeli prisoner, soldier Gilad Shalit, who was abducted by Palestinian militants in 2006, in exchange for over 1,000 Palestinians captured by Israel.   Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads.   Partner news |  Latest news Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan  A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia.U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel.Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |
