TV report: Israeli officials confirm prisoner swap talks underway with Hamas
Coronavirus threat has opened a political window in Gaza for a possible deal, say sources, with terror group’s leaders eager to see some of the blockade on the Strip lifted
Israeli officials are quietly confirming that “significant” talks are underway with Hamas to return two Israeli captives and the bodies of two IDF soldiers to Israel, Channel 12 reported on Wednesday.
Ismail Haniyeh, who leads the Gaza-based terror group, said Friday he was optimistic there was a chance to reach a prisoner swap deal with Israel, and that the group was ready for indirect negotiations.
“We have four prisoners and we are ready for indirect talks,” Haniyeh said in a television interview with the Gaza-based al-Araby TV network. “I’m optimistic about the possibility of reaching an agreement with the occupation in order to complete a prisoner exchange deal and achieve our goals.”
Those “prisoners” are two Israeli civilians, Avera Avraham Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are believed to held by Hamas after entering Gaza of their own accord in 2014-2015, and the remains of two Israeli soldiers, Sergeant First Class Oron Shaul and Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, killed in action during the 2014 Gaza war.
On Wednesday, citing unnamed Israeli defense officials, Channel 12 said the issue of the captives was delaying Israeli agreement to new investment in 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 reportedly believe a prisoner swap would bring quiet to the border for the immediate future.
Israel and Hamas have so far 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 new coalition deal inked on Monday between Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz also opens a possible political window for a deal, as Gantz’s Blue and White faction would likely support an exchange even if some of Netanyahu’s right-wing allies do not.
On Friday, Haniyeh listed numerous demands from Israel ahead of any talks, including the release of all sick prisoners, child prisoners, elderly prisoners, female prisoners and prisoners who were released in the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange who Israel has since rearrested on allegations of subsequent terror attacks.
Haniyeh said the current coronavirus crisis had created a “historic juncture” enabling progress on these talks.
His comments came a day after Hebrew media said progress had been made on a possible deal, citing both Palestinian and Israeli sources.
A senior Israeli source told Channel 13 that “an exceptional and rare opportunity has been created to reach a prisoner deal with Hamas.”
The source said Hamas was deeply concerned about a potential spread of the coronavirus in the densely crowded Gaza Strip and was interested in a deal with Israel that would include medical assistance. The source said Hamas’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, was signaling that conditions were ripe for a deal, but warned that “if we do not act quickly the opportunity will pass.”
Last week, Channel 12 cited Palestinian sources as saying a senior Hamas delegation had met in Cairo a week earlier with Egyptian intelligence officials to discuss a prisoner swap. According to the sources, Musa Dudin, a member of the Hamas political bureau, was one of the members of the delegation.
