Hamas accuses Israel of violating terms of Schalit deal
Hamas deputy leader says group is not willing to negotiate any new prisoner exchange deals until Israel fulfills terms of Shalit deal.
By JPOST.COM STAFFDeputy chairman of Hamas’s political bureau Musa Abu Marzouk talks during an interview in Cairo on August 9.(photo credit: REUTERS)
Israel has violated the terms of the Gilad Schalit prisoner exchange deal, Hamas deputy leader Mussa Abu Marzouk said this week in an interview with pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat .According to Abu Marzouk, Israel "rearrested and imprisoned many prisoners who were released, which is in violation of the deal."He continued and said that Hamas is not willing to negotiate any new prisoner exchange deals until the Jewish state fulfills the terms of the deal made for the release of Gilad Schalit in 2011. Hamas has the bodies of St.- Sgt. Oron Shaul, whom the IDF declared dead on July 25 after he was killed during Operation Protective Edge, as well as the body of Sec.-Lt. Hadar Goldin, whose body was taken by Hamas after he was killed in Gaza on August 1.He also criticized Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, saying that he expected him to do more to help with the reconstruction of Gaza after damage was incurred to thousands of homes during Operation Protective Edge."I expected the Palestinian president to call the international parties that committed to participate in the reconstruction of Gaza and did not pay any of the amounts pledged."UN and other officials said in December that barely two percent of the $5.4 billion pledged during a September conference in Cairo has been transferred to Gaza.The conference in Cairo had been hailed as a success, with Qatar promising $1 billion, Saudi Arabia $500 million and the United States and the European Union a combined $780 million in various forms of assistance.Reuters contributed to this report.
