"Israel will not give in to terrorists and will not give in to extortion," he
told Israel Radio. "It's safe to say ... the sky will fall on them if Gilad
Shalit is harmed. If he is killed, we will react in ways the Palestinians
haven't seen before."
Despite the tough public line, Israeli officials have privately said they
would consider other options to get the soldier back. Israel has released
prisoners before in lopsided exchanges for captured citizens or the dead bodies
of soldiers killed in battle.
Egypt has been leading international mediation efforts to solve the crisis,
including talking to Syria, whose president, Bashar Assad, is believed to hold
influence over Hamas' Syria-based political head, Khaled Mashaal. Turkey, a key
Muslim ally of Israel, also has sent an envoy to Syria.
"We are dealing with more than one Middle Eastern government to see if the
release of our serviceman can be secured. The fundamental principle is that his
release must be unconditional," said Mark Regev, spokesman for Israel's Foreign
Ministry.
Abu Muthana said the Army of Islam has been approached by Muslim leaders
asking it to give more time to find a peaceful resolution. He said the group was
considering the request.
Hamas sent out mixed messages late Monday. In Gaza, government spokesman
Ghazi Hamad expressed hope for a diplomatic solution. But Osama Hamdan, one of
the most senior members of the exiled Hamas leadership, ruled out a compromise
and threatened to abduct more Israelis.
"If this operation does not lead to the release of prisoners now, let's
postpone talk ... and we will continue resistance. Other (Israelis) might be
taken prisoner," Hamdan, Hamas' representative in Lebanon, told Al Manar
television.
In the West Bank city of Ramallah early Tuesday, after surrounding a
Palestinian police building, Israeli forces arrested three militants said to be
involved in the abduction and killing of an 18-year-old Israeli settler last
week. The military said a fourth was arrested earlier.
The kidnapping of the teen, Eliahu Asheri, added tension to the situation
surrounding the capture of the soldier. Asheri's body was found Thursday near
Ramallah.
In the hours before the deadline expired, Israel kept up its pressure on
Hamas with airstrikes.
Early Tuesday, Israeli aircraft hit the student council building at the
Islamic University in Gaza City, witnesses said, badly damaging it. No one was
hurt. The university is a Hamas stronghold. The military said it hit a "compound
used by terror groups for instructing and directing terrorists."
The military said it also hit another Hamas facility in northern Gaza.
In addition, Palestinian residents said several Israeli tanks and a bulldozer
entered the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun after midnight. The military said
they were still outside. Israel has been building up troops across from northern
Gaza, preparing for an invasion.
A Hamas militant was killed and four wounded in an Israeli airstrike in Beit
Hanoun just after midnight, Palestinians said. Israel said its air force
targeted Palestinians planting a bomb near soldiers' positions.
The White House and European Union have urged the militants to release
Shalit, while also calling on Israel to show restraint.
"It is the responsibility of Hamas to return the Israeli soldier. That's how
all this got started. We have also been encouraging Israel from the very
beginning to practice restraint and continue to do so," White House press
secretary Tony Snow said.
Switzerland offered more forceful criticism, accusing Israel of violating
international law in its Gaza offensive by inflicting heavy destruction and
endangering civilians in acts of collective punishment banned under the Geneva
Conventions.
Many Palestinians say they do not wish Shalit to be harmed, but they back the
demand to free some of the 9,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
"I think they should release the women and children and (the militants
should) release the soldier. But without anything in return, they'll kill him,"
said Saked Abu Kosh, a 30-year-old pharmacist in the southern town of
Rafah.
