Palestinian Authority Threatens Life of Israeli Hostage

"Zahar: Hostage at risk JTA

The Palestinian Authority said Israel´s offensive in the Gaza Strip threatens the life of an Israeli soldier held hostage.

"This aggression may claim the life of the Israeli soldier," Mahmoud Zahar, the Palestinian Authority foreign minister, told the Egyptian news agency MENA over the weekend.

He was referring to Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was seized by Gazan gunmen in a deadly June 25 border raid. Israel has mounted several major military operations in Gaza since, most recently a sweep for Palestinian rocket crews in the northern town of Beit Hanoun."