18/4/2024–|Last Updated: 4/18/202402:25 AM (Makkah Time)
Zahir Jabareen, acting head of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the West Bank, confirmed that the movement would not hand over its Israeli prisoners “except for a genuine agreement”.
In televised statements Wednesday evening, the Hamas movement submitted its response to mediators, saying, “If the occupation wants to know the fate of its prisoners and capture those alive, it must remain active in negotiations and stay. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must stay away from his tactics and his political calculations to derail the negotiations.
In a related context, a leading source in the Hamas movement told Al Jazeera that the continued US withdrawal and dependence on the Israeli position led to the crisis in the exchange agreement negotiations.
The source added that Hamas presented a vision for the deal based on a document presented by mediators, including the United States, but Washington withdrew its document after Tel Aviv rejected it and later fully accepted the Israeli position.
A Hamas leadership source confirmed that US behavior would not bring an agreement, but rather escalation and bloodshed.
Israeli position
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Foreign Minister Israel Katz asked German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbach and British Foreign Minister David Cameron to put more pressure on Hamas to comply during meetings in Jerusalem on Wednesday, the Israel Broadcasting Authority reported. Prisoner Transfer Agreement.
The war council will meet today Thursday to discuss the latest developments regarding the prisoner file and the prisoner exchange agreement, the commission said.
The Hamas movement announced last Saturday that it had submitted its response to mediators in Egypt and Qatar regarding a proposed cease-fire with Israel and a prisoner exchange in the Gaza Strip.
The movement did not reveal the content of its response, but it renewed its demands and the national demands of its people for “a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of the occupying army from the entire Gaza Strip, and the return of the displaced”. Intensify the entry of relief and aid to their areas and begin reconstruction.
It confirmed its readiness to “conclude a serious and genuine prisoner exchange agreement between the two parties”.
A few days ago, sources revealed details of Hamas's response to Al Jazeera, and the movement adhered to a proposed framework for a 3-phase ceasefire, each phase lasting 42 days.
Hamas initially demanded the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all areas and the return of displaced persons to the northern Gaza Strip, with guarantees of free movement in all its areas.
In response to the mediators, Hamas stipulated that a permanent cease-fire be declared in the second phase before the prisoner exchange could begin, and also demanded the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip in the second phase.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office considers Hamas to have responded “negatively” to the broad definitions put forward by the mediators.
