[News] Israel’s Talks about New Prisoner Exchange Deal are Political Maneuvering - Hamas

[Anti-Imperialist News]

palestinechronicle.com
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/israels-talks-about-new-prisoner-exchange-deal-are-political-maneuvering-hamas/>
Israel’s Talks about New Prisoner Exchange Deal are Political Maneuvering -
HamasDecember 12, 2023
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(Image: Palestine Chronicle)

*By Palestine Chronicle Staff
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/palestine-chronicle-staff>*

*According to Hamas’ top official Osama Hamdan, Israel’s leaks regarding
the possibility of a prisoner exchange deal are a maneuver to mislead
Israeli public opinion.*

Israeli media quoted an official source as saying that the Israeli
government is ready to listen to the mediators’ proposals regarding a new
exchange deal with the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas, Al-Jazeera
reported on Tuesday.

Israeli Channel 12 reported, citing an informed source, that conditions are
ripe to consider the possibility of another exchange deal for prisoners and
detainees.

According to the source, Mossad Chief David Barnea received instructions to
start listening to the mediating parties, including the State of Qatar.

The deal would not be completed during the next week, according to the
source, but this would signal the reopening of a dialogue process.

For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday that
Israel is open to the possibility of reaching an agreement with the
Lebanese Resistance group Hezbollah.

“If Hezbollah allows an agreement process, on the condition any agreement
includes a safe zone along the border and proper guarantees,” Gallant said,
according to Reuters news agency.
*Different Timeframes*

However, according to the British newspaper The Guardian, “different
timeframes are circulating.”

“Diplomats at the annual Doha Forum conference in Qatar have said they are
not expecting any reopening of Gaza ceasefire talks for some weeks,” The
Guardian reported
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/11/gaza-ceasefire-negotiations-unlikely-to-restart-for-weeks-diplomats-say>
.

The diplomats suggested, according to the British newspaper, that the
resumption of ceasefire negotiations is linked to Israel’s ability to
“point to the killing or capture of some of Hamas’s key leaders as a sign
that its military operation has achieved its purpose.”
*Hamas: No Negotiations without Complete Ceasefire*

Commenting on the news, Osama Hamdan, a member of Hamas’ political bureau,
said that the movement would not conclude any exchange deal with Israel
before the end of the aggression on Gaza.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Osama said that Israel’s leaks regarding
the possibility of a prisoner exchange deal are merely a maneuver to
mislead Israeli public opinion and reduce pressure.

“The movement’s clear position is that there is no talk of any prisoner
exchange before a complete ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” Hamdan said,
adding:

“The occupation is trying to appear as if something is happening
politically in order to alleviate internal pressure from the prisoners’
families”.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 18,205 Palestinians have been
killed and 49,645 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on
October 7. Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of
those killed and wounded are women and children.

*(PC, AJA)*


(The Palestine Chronicle is a registered
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/about/> 501(c)3 organization, thus, all
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