Special report: Israel launches Gaza assault

    GAZA, July 1 (Xinhua) - A senior Hamas official and a member in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) decreased on Saturday the importance of targeting ministers in the Hamas-led government, saying that the ministers and the lawmakers will be facing their destiny.

    "The flag would never fall down, but leaders can become martyrs or prisoners," Mushier al-Masri told Xinhua in comment to the reports that Israel threatened to target Palestinian PrimeMinister Ismail Haneya if the captive Israeli soldier gets killed. Meanwhile, the official also said that the three groups abducting an Israeli soldier last Sunday would not reduce its demands to Palestinian prisoners imprisoned in Israel jails."The militant groups would never minimize its demands to reduce its conditions towards the issue of the abducted soldier," al-Masri noted.

    He added that the release of a 1,000 prisoners of those spending high sentences as well as Arab, Moslem and sick prisoners in Israeli jails, is a clear condition in order to free the abducted soldier Gilad Shalit.

    Last Sunday, Israeli Corporal Shalit was seized in a deadly attack carried out by militants from Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the Popular Resistance Committees and its offshoot Islamic Army on an Israeli army post near a southern Gaza border crossing.

    "The abduction of the soldier is a step in the right direction in order to release imprisoned Palestinians in the Israeli jails,"said al-Masri, expecting that Israel sooner or later would give up and accept the conditions.

    However, the request was rejected by Israeli Prime MinisterEhud Olmert on Saturday.

    The Israeli army has launched an operation dubbed "Summer Rain"against the Gaza Strip to secure the return of Shalit. Enditem