A spokesperson for the Hamas movement’s military wing said during a speech commemorating the fifth anniversary of the Gilad Shalit deal on Tuesday that Israel would be made to release Palestinian prisoners as part of a future deal.
Abu Obeida, a spokesperson for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, said on Tuesday that Israel was “evading paying for a new deal,” but that it would “pay,” willingly or not, in any new exchange deal.
He added that the world, the Palestinian people, and Palestinian prisoners would be surprised “when the time comes for the Brigades to reveal the entire truth on what the resistance has in store to obtain the freedom of prisoners.”
Hamas vows to 'surprise world' in prisoner swap talks | The Times of Israel https://t.co/1vDpJ1ZC1M
— Achmed bin Goldberg (@mdp4202) October 19, 2016
Hamas has repeatedly insisted that Israel must release all prisoners who were freed as part of the Shalit deal but have since been detained again, before starting talks of a new prisoner swap deal.
Hamas claims to hold the bodies of two Israeli soldiers killed during the 2014 war in Gaza, and their release is at the center of prisoner negotiations.
Israeli citizens, Avera Mengistu and Bedouin Hisham al-Sayed, are also believed to be alive and held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
(MA’AN, PC)
