By Ryan Jones
Jul 06, 2006
The "Palestinian" terrorists holding IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit issued fresh toned-down demands for his release Wednesday, despite having declared a day earlier that negotiations over Shalit's fate were over after Israel failed to comply with their original ultimatum.
Hamas and its allies in the Palestinian Resistance Committees and the Islamic Army had suggested they would execute Shalit if at least 1,000 "Palestinian" security prisoners were not released from Israeli jails by 6 AM Tuesday.
Israel immediately rejected the terms, vowing not to succumb to terrorist blackmail.
Instead, Jerusalem gave the IDF a green light to launch "Operation Summer Rains," which has seen the army launch limited air strikes against Hamas and Palestinian Authority targets and capture swaths of land in northern, central and southern Gaza.
The terrorists' failure to follow through on their ultimatum indicates Israel's present course of action is having the desired effect.