Is the Palestinian leadership terrorist in nature?
The fate of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit remains uncertain. The Palestinian militants holding Shalit had demanded that Israel release 1000 Palestinians in return for his safe release. That deadline passed this afternoon and so far militants have refused to give any information about his condition, raising fears about his possible execution. However, some have viewed Israel’s response to the kidnapping with concern. Dozens of democratically elected Palestinian leaders have been arrested by Israel, and power to 1.5million residents of Gaza has been cut. Andrew Vincent, a lecturer in Middle East studies at Macquarie University, discussed whether it was to separate the Palestinian peacemakers from the militants within Palestinian government.