Hamas militants in Gaza posted an audio tape of a captive Israeli soldier online on the Internet yesterday shortly before Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced the upcoming release of 250 Fatah prisoners after a summit with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

As Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas flew in to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Sergeant Gilad Shalit was heard apparently asking for medical treatment and pleading Israel to release Palestinian prisoners.

A spokesman for Hamas, who recently seized hold of Gaza after routing Abbas' Fatah forces earlier this month, said it was up to Israel to organize a deal that would see 20-year-old Shalit freed.

Hamas kidnapped Shalit during an armed attack on an Israeli army base in southeastern Gaza Strip a year ago.

Abbas, leader of the long-dominant Fatah faction, and Israel have jointly sworn to isolate Hamas in the Gaza Strip as they cooperate on establishing a Palestinian state.

However, the tape comes as a sharp reminder that with 1.5 million Palestinians, one in three of the new state's potential citizens, are now living under Hamas rule and that the creation of the state would inevitable be fractured without Hamas accord.

"The only beneficiary of these summits is the Zionist enemy," Mushir al-Masri, a member of the Hamas majority in the Palestinian parliament said. "It is surprising that at a time when Abbas has shut the door on talks with Hamas, he is running and begging for a meeting with Olmert."

Shalit, apart from this tape, has only had one previous contact with the outside world in a letter written nine months ago, in which he wrote: "I regret the lack of interest of the Israeli government and military in my case. Thousands of Palestinian detainees have mothers and fathers whose sons must be returned to them."

After the summit, Olmert said that he plans to release 250 prisoners from the Fatah movement. He described the move as a gesture of goodwill towards the Palestinians, and that the proposal would cover "250 Fatah prisoners who do not have blood on their hands", who would be freed "after they sign a commitment not to return to violence." 

Olmert said he did this because "all Palestinians know that those who are ready to maintain relations of peace and reconciliation with us will receive a hand extended in reconciliation."

Olmert also reiterated that Israel would not give up on Sergeant Shalit. "We are acting to secure their release and I will spare no effort in returning him home," said Olmert.

Olmert appealed to the families of the Palestinian prisoners, saying "as important as it is for your sons to return home, so too is it as important for us."

Besides Olmert and Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah II also attended the summit as mediators.

(China Daily via agencies, Xinhua News Agency June 26, 2007)