Israel ignores militants' deadline in captured soldier crisis

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert today ignored a deadline to begin releasing Palestinian prisoners and instead issued a veiled threat against Syria, vowing to strike “those who sponsor” the militants in the Gaza Strip who seized a young Israeli soldier.

Olmert’s comments signalled that a flurry of diplomacy throughout the region was still no closer to securing the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit.