Palestinian official hopeful a prisoner swap will be reached soon

“We are hopeful that a balanced deal will be achieved. We are also hoping that one or more [IDF] soldiers are alive so that the deal would meet the expectations of the Palestinian people.”

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
A member of security forces loyal to Hamas stands guard as supporters of former senior Fatah official Mohammad Dahlan take part in a rally marking the death anniversary of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, in Gaza City November 9, 2017 (photo credit: REUTERS/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA)
A member of security forces loyal to Hamas stands guard as supporters of former senior Fatah official Mohammad Dahlan take part in a rally marking the death anniversary of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, in Gaza City November 9, 2017
(photo credit: REUTERS/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA)
Qadoura Fares, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, on Thursday expressed hope that a “big” prisoner exchange agreement with Israel would be achieved soon, resulting in the release of a large number of sick and female inmates, as well as those serving lengthy prison sentences.
“There is huge hope on the horizon that a deal will be achieved, and we hope that the upcoming [Muslim holiday of] Eid al-Fitr would see the release of a large number of our sons and daughters,” Fares said during a rally in Ramallah on the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, which is marked on April 17 in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners.
 “We are hopeful that a balanced deal will be achieved. We are also hoping that one or more [IDF] soldiers are alive so that the deal would meet the expectations of the Palestinian people.”
Muslims will celebrate Eid al-Fitr in late May, immediately after the end of the holy month of Ramadan, which begins on April 23.
Hamas is holding the remains of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were killed during Operation Protective Edge in 2014. In addition, two Israeli civilians who voluntarily entered the Gaza Strip are also believed to be held captive by Hamas: Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed.
In a speech marking Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh praised the prisoners for “turning the cells into schools and universities.” He said that the Palestinians are looking forward to the day when all the prisoners would be released.
PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi called for international pressure on Israel to force it to unconditionally release all the Palestinian prisoners, especially in light of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
“At a time when the world is facing the coronavirus pandemic and is fighting to save all humanity from this danger, the occupation authorities continue to deliberately disregard the lives of prisoners,” Ahrawi said.
Meanwhile, Hamas denied that its officials visited Egypt recently to discuss the prospects of reaching a prisoner exchange agreement with Israel. Musa Dudeen, a senior Hamas official in charge of the “prisoners’ portfolio,” said that a report about a visit to Cairo was untrue, adding that there was no progress on this issue so far.
Mushir al-Masri, another senior Hamas official, said on Thursday that his movement holds “powerful cards” that would force Israel to accept its conditions for a prisoner swap. Al-Masri said that Hamas remains committed to its leader’s recent proposal to strike a deal with Israel.

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Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar recently announced his readiness to offer “partial compensation” to Israel, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Akhbar newspaper claimed this week that Hamas has submitted to Israel a list of 250 prisoners that it wants released in exchange for information about Israelis held in the Gaza Strip. The newspaper said that Hamas is demanding the release of all prisoners who had been previously released in the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange and had been re-arrested by Israel.


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