SYRIA PREVENTING KIDNAPPED SOLDIER'S RELEASE

Israel: Syria Preventing Kidnapped Soldier's Release
Syria has disrupted efforts to free an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas and interfered in attempts to defuse Israel's ongoing conflict with the Palestinians, Israel's foreign minister Tzipi Livni said Monday in London. "Whenever there was a kind of chance to release him, the order came from Syria saying not to release him," she told the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Whenever Hamas showed signs of cooperation with Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Syria sent messages saying, "don't do it," she said. (AP/International Herald Tribune)