The deadline for Israel to acquiesce to Palestinian demands for the release of Gilad Shalit has come and gone -- and the "Army of Islam" has announced that no further announcements on Shalit will be forthcoming:

The deadline made by Cpl. Gilad Shalit's captors on Monday, stating that they would kill the soldier at 6:00 a.m., came and went Tuesday without concrete word or new information.

Army Radio reported, however, that an armed group in Gaza, "the Army of Islam," announced nearly one half hour after the deadline passed "from now on no new information would be given," regarding Shalit.

According to government officials, Israel would continue its ongoing military operation against Hamas as if there were no ultimatum, and has warned key international players that the military action will be escalated if Shalit is killed. ...

"If, God forbid, they should hurt the soldier, our operations will be far worse," Justice Minister Haim Ramon told Channel 2. Interior Minister Roni Bar-On told Y-Net that "the kidnappers will pay a price they have not yet paid if they harm the soldier."

To underscore this point, the Israelis have mobilized a fleet of bulldozers on the northern border of Gaza. The IDF has made a very limited incursion in that region, primarily looking for Kassam missile sites that have rained explosives on Israeli civilians for months. If Shalit turns up dead, which seems likely now, the Israelis will have big plans for those bulldozers.

Israel has made it clear that they view Shailt's abduction and the border crossing that enabled it as an act of war, and they do not intend to let the Palestinians off the hook this time. If their abduction turns into murder, especially a torture murder, Gaza will pay a price for their insistence on terror over statesmanship.

On another front, the IDF captured the terrorists who murdered and mutilated an Israeli teenage civilian to prove their manhood:

Three Aksa Martyrs Brigades terrorists suspected of kidnapping and killing Itamar resident Eliyahu Asheri last week, surrendered to elite IDF troops in Ramallah early Tuesday morning after a three-hour standoff.

According to Army Radio, large IDF forces had surrounded the Palestinian Authority Police building in the West Bank city. Soldiers and Palestinian gunmen exchanged fire during the operation. ...

OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh said last Thursday that Asheri was murdered by his kidnappers approximately one hour after he was abducted. 'There was no attempt by the kidnappers to negotiate his release while he was alive,' Naveh said.

The IDF had attacked the PA building and beseiged the terrorists for a while before they finally surrendered. AAMB is part of Fatah, making the latest wave of terrorist attacks a pan-Palestinian affair.

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» Israeli Forces Rout Out Murderers of Asheri from Blue Star Chronicles
For the liberals that seem a little confused about the definitions of words and phrases, THIS was ‘cold blooded murder.’ [Read More]

Tracked on July 4, 2006 1:02 AM

» IDF Captures Asheri's Killers from Liberty and Justice
It's now up to Olmert to persevere and capture those responsible for the kidnapping of Corporal Shalit and the ones responsible for firing qassams at Israel on a daily basis. [Read More]

Tracked on July 4, 2006 8:41 AM

» Kidnappers Stop Negotiating from The Moderate Voice
Somehow the Palestinians seem to be - as others noticed already - unable to do what's in their best interest. If they think that Israel will somehow change its position if the terrorists refuse to 'negotiate' any longer, they are - most likely - wrong.... [Read More]

Tracked on July 4, 2006 9:56 AM

» "Sky will Fall on Them" Says Israel from Assorted Babble by Suzie
No negotiating with the militants, said Olmert about Israel. "This is a long war," Olmert said. "It requires lots of patience, sometimes endless restraint. We have to know when to clench our teeth and to deal a decisive blow." I support Israel an ...... [Read More]

Tracked on July 4, 2006 11:35 AM