Hamas made a demand for the release of Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti as part of a hostage deal with Israel, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Saturday.
Barghouti, the head of Tanzim, an armed faction of Fatah, was arrested by the Israeli security forces in the West Bank city of Ramallah on April 15, 2002.
A couple of years later, he was convicted on five accounts of murder and one account of attempted murder for the killings of four Israelis and a Greek Orthodox priest during the Second Intifada.
Barghouti was additionally convicted on charges of terrorism, as well as on charges of membership in a terrorist organization. He was subsequently sentenced to five consecutive life sentences as well as an additional 40 years.
“Hamas wants to show to the Palestinian people that they are not a closed movement,” Qadoura Fares, the Palestinian Prisoner Affairs Ministry head, told AP. “They represent part of the Palestinian social community. They are trying to seem responsible.”
Fares reportedly has a long history in prisoner release negotiations.
Barghouti is a popular figure in Palestinian politics. Many see him as a successor to 88-year-old Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas.
In June of last year, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research conducted a poll indicating that, at the time, over a quarter (27%) of Palestinians named Barghouti as their preferred successor to Abbas.
In the poll, Barghouti outperformed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.
Netanyahu: We will not agree to any deal
Still, on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in strong terms regarding Palestinian prisoner releases as part of a potential hostage deal, despite ongoing efforts to secure the freedom of the hostages still in Hamas captivity.
Speaking at the start of Sunday's cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu reiterated previous statements that Israel would not accept a disadvantageous hostage deal.
“Efforts to free our abductees continue all the time,” Netanyahu said. “As I also emphasized in the general cabinet - we will not agree to any deal, and not at any price.
"There will be no cessation of the war without achieving all its goals,” the prime minister continued. “The IDF will not withdraw from the Strip, and thousands of terrorists will not be released. We are making a tremendous effort and employing various means to release our captives, but not at any cost."
Netanyahu, however, did not explicitly rule out trading high-profile Palestinian prisoners, such as Barghouti.