A LARGE-SCALE military clash loomed in Gaza last night as Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, rejected demands to negotiate for the release of a captive soldier and his army prepared an operation to free the man. Gaza militants who seized Corporal Gilad Shalit after a raid on Sunday had demanded the release of Palestinian women and children from Israeli jails in return for information about his whereabouts. Mr Olmert quickly responded: “The question of freeing prisoners is in no way on the Israeli government agenda. There will be no negotiations, no bargaining, no agreements.” He was speaking as Israel massed tanks on the border and said that the country was prepared to assassinate senior Palestinians, including the leaders of Hamas, the ruling party. An incursion to free the soldier would be by far the largest move into Gaza since the Israeli withdrawal a year ago. The military wing of Hamas was one of three armed groups that claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn raid on Sunday, in which the 19-year-old dual French-Israeli citizen was captured. The raid was carried out by armed men who tunnelled from Rafah to Kerem Shalom, a military base just across the border. Two Israeli soldiers were killed as well as two militants.
Mr Olmert put the army on alert for a “comprehensive and protracted operation” unless the 19-year-old corporal was freed unconditionally. Mr Olmert’s government urged Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, to secure the soldier’s freedom, holding him and the rest of the Palestinian Authority accountable. “I gave the orders to our military commanders to prepare the army for a broad and ongoing military operation to strike the terrorist leaders and all those involved,” Mr Olmert said. “Let it be clear: we will reach everyone, no matter where they are, and they know it. There will be immunity for no one.”