The capture of dozens of Israeli soldiers and civilians by Hamas militants has stirred Israeli emotions more viscerally than any crisis in the country’s recent memory.
By Isabel Debre, Associated PressIsraelis attend a demonstration calling for the release of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, July 22, 2008, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Hamas militants seized Shalit in a cross-border raid on June 25, 2006, killing two other members of his tank crew.
Their captivity raises the heat on Netanyahu and his hawkish, far-right allies, who are already under intense pressure to respond to the killing of over 700 Israelis in the Hamas attack so far. Netanyahu’s vow to unleash the full force of the Israeli military on Hamas has raised fears for the safety of Israeli civilians spread in undisclosed locations across the densely populated Gaza Strip.
The fate of prisoners for Palestinians is perhaps just as emotional as it is for Israelis. With an estimated 750,000 Palestinians having passed through Israel prisons since Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, most Palestinians have either spent time in Israeli jail or know someone who has. Israel sees them as terrorists, but Palestinians view detainees as heroes.
It was a clear sign that Netanyahu “has not given up on his extremist nationalist government,” she said. But the risk of Israeli civilians falling victim to relentless Israeli bombardment or languishing for years in Hamas captivity while Israel gets dragged into an open-ended campaign could also be politically ruinous for Netanyahu.
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