Hamas leader-in-exile Khaled Mashaal blamed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday for delaying to secure a deal to release captured IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Schalit. During a press conference in Yemen, Mashaal also rejected a request by Palestinians to relinquish the right of return. In addition, Israel Radio reported that Mashaal responded to the previous day's criticism by Al-Qaida leader Osama Bin-Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahri, and said that it was better not to slander a man who was being hunted by the US. On Sunday, Al-Qaida's number two accused Hamas of selling out by agreeing to respect past peace deals with Israel.
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