Ex-official in charge of prisoner swaps sees ‘real possibility’ of Hamas deal
German report says Swiss diplomat and 2 officials from Berlin have teamed up with Egyptian general to spearhead negotiations for return of Israeli captives in Gaza
A former Mossad official who was involved in the 2011 deal to free Gilad Shalit expressed optimism about the possibility of a prisoner swap between Israel and the Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group in an interview published Wednesday.
“It seems there is a real possibility at the moment for a deal between Hamas and Israel for the release of the captives and the missing,” David Meidan told German weekly Die Zeit, according to the Ynet news site. “The gaps aren’t so great.”
“Hamas, for its part, is under pressure because of the coronavirus pandemic and fears that when it erupts, it may be left without adequate medical equipment,” said Meidan, who previously served as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appointed representative overseeing efforts to return Israelis held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
However, according to the report, German officials are wary of their Israeli counterparts’ optimism.
The possibility of a deal to return two Israeli captives — Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed — and the bodies of two IDF soldiers being held in the Gaza Strip has appeared to pick up momentum recently.
According to the Die Ziet report, Zehava Shaul, whose son Oron’s body is held by Hamas, visited Berlin in December 2017 and, during a series of meetings arranged by the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli officials, asked Germany to take a role in possible negotiations for a deal.
Three months later, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas arrived in Israel and met with Netanyahu, with the two men agreeing that Berlin would take an active role in negotiations.
The report said that when he was justice minister, Maas had close relations with his Israeli then-counterpart Ayelet Shaked, a role during which he spoke many times about the importance of Germany’s commitment to Israel, “because of Auschwitz.”
After the meeting between Maas and Netanyahu, German Chancellor Angela Merkel instructed German Federal Intelligence Service chief Bruno Kahl to become involved in mediation and Kahl in turn imposed the task on two senior officials who searched for a path to access the Hamas leadership, in particular the terror group’s Gaza chief, Yahya Sinwar.
It was determined that a senior Swiss diplomat stationed in the Middle East had the necessary contacts, and the three were then joined in the team by an Egyptian general who was a partner in the negotiations that led to the Shalit deal.
Israeli officials last month reportedly quietly confirmed that “significant” talks were underway with Hamas.
The government’s current chief negotiator for the release of Israelis held by the terror group updated families last week regarding the prisoner swap talks, while a senior Hamas official reacted Sunday to reported progress, saying the terror group was willing to “sacrifice everything” to win the release of its members from Israeli prisons.
Husam Badran, the Gaza-based movement’s international spokesman and a member of its political bureau, said Hamas was aiming to make “a significant achievement” in the deal but wasn’t eager to discuss the details in the media.
“The further things are from the eye of the media, the more there are positive and practical results,” he said, according to Hebrew-language media reports.
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett was asked about the possibility of a prisoner swap during a press conference on Sunday, but refused to comment on any specific developments.
“I oppose releasing murderers. Period,” Bennett said.
Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday said he too would oppose a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.
“If there’s a deal like this I’ll oppose it with all my might,” he told the Ynet news site, adding that Netanyahu had refused his request for the security cabinet to discuss a potential swap deal.
“I’m troubled,” he said. “The release of terrorists is a red line that can’t be crossed.”
The meeting last week between current Israeli chief negotiator Yaron Blum and the families of Sergeant First Class Shaul and Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, both killed in action during the 2014 Gaza war, came after Netanyahu earlier convened the ministerial committee responsible for returning Israeli captives to discuss efforts to reach a prisoner exchange with Hamas, Channel 13 reported.
While Hamas has in recent weeks expressed interest in reaching a deal, the terror group, which is the de facto ruler in the Strip and openly seeks Israel’s destruction, has said that in order for such a deal to take place, Israel must first release all teenage, female and elderly prisoners in addition to those who were rearrested after the 2011 Shalit deal, when more than 1,000 terror convicts were freed in exchange for a single IDF soldier.
Ismail Haniyeh, who leads the Gaza-based group, has said that he was optimistic there was a chance to reach a prisoner swap deal with Israel, and that the group was ready for indirect negotiations.
The issue of the captives was reportedly delaying Israel’s okay for new investment money to be funneled into blockaded Gaza, and Hamas was growing desperate to lift part of the blockade amid the global coronavirus pandemic and economic downturn.
Some Israeli defense bodies are said to believe a prisoner swap would bring quiet to the often tense border for the immediate future.
After weeks of quiet, Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket into Israel early Wednesday that landed in an open area, causing no injuries or damage, the IDF said. The IDF said that in response tanks shelled three Hamas military positions in the northern Gaza Strip.
Israel and Hamas have in the past failed to advance in the talks, in part because each has demanded a different timetable. Hamas has demanded two rounds of prisoner releases — the first in exchange for information on the captives, the second in exchange for the actual delivery to Israel of the captives and the soldiers’ bodies. Israel has refused, insisting that any deal must take place in a single exchange.
The coalition deal inked last month between Netanyahu and Benny Gantz also opens a possible political window for a deal, as Gantz’s Blue and White party would likely support an exchange even if some of Netanyahu’s right-wing allies do not.
