Hamas will end talks on securing a prisoner exchange with Israel unless there is progress soon, the terror group’s leader in the Gaza Strip says.
“In the face of the occupation’s (Israel’s) stalling on this issue, we announce that we give them a limited time to finalize this deal,” Yahya Sinwar, Hamas chief in Gaza, says during a rare public appearance.
“Otherwise, we will close the case of the four enemy prisoners from the side of the resistance forever,” he adds, at a rally marking the 35th anniversary of the group’s establishment.
The terror group currently holds two living Israelis — Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed — as well as the bodies of two Israeli soldiers: Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin.
There is no official contact between the two sides. Egypt and the United Nations have served as mediators in the past.
Sinwar says indirect negotiations over a prisoner exchange were “interrupted because of the elections” in Israel.
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