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.
Displaced Palestinians flee from Khan Yunis as the Israeli bombardment continues.
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— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 12, 2023
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.
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.”
AL-QASSAM:
Our mujahideen targeted 7 military vehicles with shells and anti-armor devices in the Shejaiya neighborhood.
Our Mujahideen targeted a troop carrier and killed 3 of its crew.
Our Mujahideen fought fierce clashes with the enemy in several areas from zero distance and… pic.twitter.com/sQeCtMSd7f
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 12, 2023
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)
