Hamas: We haven’t received a ‘real response’ from Israel on prisoner swap

The source told the Palestinian daily Al-Quds that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was engaged in “media equivocation” and has not actually moved towards reaching a prisoner exchange agreement.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Palestinians take part in a rally marking the 31st anniversary of Hamas' founding, in Gaza City (photo credit: IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA / REUTERS)
Palestinians take part in a rally marking the 31st anniversary of Hamas' founding, in Gaza City
(photo credit: IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA / REUTERS)
Although Egypt and Russia have expressed willingness to help reach a prisoner exchange agreement, Hamas has still not received a “serious response” from Israel, a senior Hamas source said on Saturday.
The source told the Palestinian daily Al-Quds that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was engaged in “media equivocation” and has not actually moved towards reaching a prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas.
“We have not received from any mediator or party, including the Egyptians or the Russians or others, any Israeli response, except for what appeared in the media,” the source said. “Hamas repeats its readiness to proceed with this issue in order to save the lives of the [Palestinian] prisoners, especially the sick, the women and the elderly.”
Hamas, the source added, is “fully serious about taking advantage of this opportunity to complete an exchange deal that would include the largest number of prisoners, first and foremost the leaders of the Palestinian resistance who are serving life-term sentences.”
The source warned that Hamas’s military wing, Izaddin al-Qassam, has “powerful cards” that would surprise Israel. “The ball is now in the occupation’s court, and Hamas welcomes any mediation to complete a deal,” the source said, emphasizing Egypt’s “historic role” in reaching prisoner exchange agreements between the two sides.
According to the source, the Egyptians initially moved towards reaching a deal after Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar indicated last week his desire to reach a prisoner swap with Israel in light of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. “Until now, however, there is no real response from Israel,” the source claimed.
Last week Israel said it was willing to negotiate with Hamas through intermediaries to secure the release of soldiers’ bodies and civilians held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
A statement by the Prime Minister’s Office said the “coordinator for captives and missing people, Yaron Bloom, and his staff, together with the National Security Council and the defense establishment, are prepared to act constructively with a goal to return the bodies and missing people and end this matter.”
Hamas has held the bodies of IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since Operation Protective Edge in 2014. In addition, Hamas is believed to be holding civilians Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who entered the Gaza Strip on their own.
The Israeli announcement came a day after Sinwar said he is “ready to make partial concessions on our prisoners’ issue in exchange for Israel’s release of elderly prisoners, patients and female inmates as a humanitarian gesture in light of the coronavirus crisis.”
Sources in the Gaza Strip said Hamas was considering providing Israel with details about the condition of the two soldiers and the medical condition of the two civilians in order to move forward with a possible prisoner exchange agreement. Israel says the soldiers – Goldin and Shaul – were killed during the fighting with Hamas, but Hamas has refused to provide any details about their condition.
Palestinian political analyst Sharhabeel al-Gharib said the indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas were still in their early stages. Al-Gharib told the Hamas-affiliated al-Risalah website that the negotiations began after Sinwar expressed his willingness to reach a prisoner exchange agreement with Israel. “Israel will have to pay the price, sooner or later,” the analyst added.


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