Israeli media: US-Israeli talks on new prisoner-captive exchange
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Israeli media reports discussions between the United States and "Israel" regarding the potential advancement of an additional prisoner-captive exchange deal.
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White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Monday, December 4, 2023, in Washington. (AP)
Israeli media reported on Friday that the US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, held a two-hour meeting with the head of the Mossad, David Barnea, and discussed the possibility of initiating an additional deal related to a new prisoner-captive exchange.
Israeli media quoted a US official as stating that the United States is in discussions with the involved parties regarding various initiatives to revive a new prisoner-captive exchange.
Two days ago, the Saudi Elaph news website revealed that a European capital is hosting secret meetings between an Israeli and a Qatari delegation to discuss a new prisoner-captive exchange deal with Hamas.
Quoting a high-level diplomatic source, the site reported that the Israeli and Qatari delegations are working on formulating a new exchange deal that includes children, women, and men, including three senior officers in the Israeli army who were captured by Hamas.
In return, the source stated that "Israel" will commit to releasing about 300 Palestinian prisoners, including 10 prisoners who have served lengthy sentences, among them Marwan al-Barghouti, a leading figure in the Fatah movement.
Read next: 'Israel' violates prisoner swap deal conditions against Fadwa Hamadeh
No negotiations before ceasefire
In response to the Elaph news report, Hamas politburo member Osama Hamdan said that the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, humiliated the Israeli occupation and brought the Israeli occupation closer to its end.
In a press conference held by Hamas in Beirut, Lebanon, regarding the developments of the aggression on Gaza, Hamdan said the occupation's arrest of a group of displaced persons in UNRWA schools was "a crime reminiscent of the Nazis' crimes against the Jews and the violations of the Abu Ghraib prison."
The Hamas top official reiterated the Palestinian people's rejection of all displacement bids in Gaza and the West Bank, emphasizing that "Palestine was and will forever remain for the Palestinians."
"There will be no negotiation for [the release of the Israeli captives] before a ceasefire in Gaza," Hamdan said. "The occupation will not succeed in liberating any living prisoner by force, and their lives will be endangered."
