Haniyeh: Captives to be freed soon

Premier of the Gaza-based Palestinian government Ismail Haniyeh said on Monday that an agreement would soon be brokered with the Zionist regime to secure the release of Palestinian captives in return for the seized Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

In a celebration held in the headquarters of the Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs in Gaza, Haniyeh reiterated that Hamas would insist that all of its demands are met before any exchange with Israel went ahead. "We will not abandon these demands until the captives are returned to their families as part of a national ceremony," Haniyeh explained.

"I tell you that a happy ending is coming, and the chains of the jails will break and Palestine will soon celebrate an honorable prisoner swap," he added.

Haniyeh also condemned the Zionisty regime's apprehension of Palestinian Legislative Council deputy Muna Mansour along with a number of businessmen in the West Bank city of Nablus, describing the Israeli assaults against Nablus charities and institutions as a humanitarian disaster.

He emphasized that the Israeli policies of oppression, terrorism, detention, building the separation wall, and the continuation of settlement expansion and military checkpoints in the West Bank have all failed to break Palestinians' spirits.

Haniyeh also announced that his government will pay $500 to the families of each Palestinian captive starting on the first day of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, which begins in September.