Signs of Life ... Or Not

Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen aka Mahmoud Abbas says that Gilad Shalit may be released soon. If I had a nickle for every time I heard that, I'd be able to buy a house in Saddle River, New Jersey (I'd be a real rich guy).

"We are undertaking efforts to free Shalit and these efforts will soon come to fruition," Abbas told France 24 television of Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was seized last June in a cross-border raid from Gaza into southern Israel. "We are optimistic.

He will be freed soon," Abbas said in comments due to be broadcast Friday evening.

However, he gave no specifics and previous comments by him about Shalit have not resulted in the soldier's release.

Abbas said there were also 9,500 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel who should be released too, although he said the two issues were not related.

Channel 2 reported Friday evening that Hamas has given Israel a list of prisoners it is demanding be freed in exchange for Shalit.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian militants holding captured Shalit recently brought him a pair of eyeglasses, the Nazareth-based newspaper A-Sanara reported on Friday.

He's been held since June 2006, and there's been no sign that he was alive, and there's no reason to believe that anything has changed in Israel's stance on prisoner releases or giving in to threats.

Hizbullah also continues to hold two Israeli soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, and there's no sign of life on that front either though Hizbullah claims that they were treated humanely. Goldwasser and Regev were captured by Hizbullah terrorists who invaded Israel to specifically capture Israeli soldiers to be used as bargaining chips. Hizbullah didn't count on Israel taking serious military action, including a month-long military campaign to degrade Hizbullah's capabilities in South Lebanon.

There's no reason to believe that the terrorists have decided to release their captives, though there is one possible reason for the news on this front.

Iran.

Has the situation with the British 15 forced Iran to put the screws to its proxy terrorists in Lebanon and Gaza to buy time for the Iranians so that they can continue their nuclear ambitions?

I think the simpler explanation may be that Abu Mazen is simply trying to gain credibility with the West by claiming Shalit will be released soon, and is hoping for a quid pro quo from Israel to release Palestinian prisoners, many of whom have Israeli blood on their hands.