Israeli media: Ceasefire is political chance to promote prisoner file

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Senior Israeli officials told Walla! news website Monday that the file of the Israeli "prisoners of war" is at the top of Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid's priority list and that signals of Hamas' stance on this issue have been detected.

Earlier, Hamas accused the Israeli occupation of not handling the prisoner exchange file seriously.

Walla! cited Israeli officials as saying that they don't want to miss out on the chance of concluding a prisoner exchange deal, adding that Hamas' recent statements on this matter should be benefitted from in other directions as well.

The Israeli officials said the situation is very complicated, but they want to move forward and not be silent in the face of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

Senior Israeli officials told the site that they are exhausting every opportunity to resolve the prisoner exchange file.

"Israel" did not expect the arrest of Al-Saadi would lead to escalation

Officials revealed that "Israel" did not expect that the arrest of PIJ official Bassam Al-Saadi in Jenin would lead to an escalation but made clear that Al-Saadi would not be released.

According to Israeli officials, the process that led to the Egyptian-mediated ceasefire began even before PIJ's response to the Israeli aggression - when "Israel", through mediators, tried to stop the PIJ from carrying out an attack - which was a failed move.

Walla! cited the officials as saying that they realized that the PIJ did not plan to withdraw without taking major action against the occupation, which led the Israeli occupation to launch the aggression on Gaza.

The officials added that the plan was to focus on the PIJ from the beginning, claiming that a decision was made to act against the Jihad only when there was an operational opportunity or a need to thwart an attack.

The Israeli website revealed that the Israeli officials indicated that contrary to the reports, "Israel" did not agree to release Bassam Al-Saadi and hunger-striking prisoner Khalil Awadeh, adding that the Egyptians asked to ensure the safety of the prisoners, which is a sensitive issue.

Al-Nakhalah: Occupation was pressured by the resistance

It is noteworthy that PIJ Secretary-General Ziad Al-Nakhalah underlined that "the occupation was pressured by the resistance, and it was imposed upon [Tel Aviv] to release prisoner Khalil Awawdeh and Sheikh Bassam Al-Saadi," adding that "the occupation was unable to impose any condition on us."

The Resistance chief also affirmed the unity of the Resistance factions, saying that "we, the brothers in Hamas, and the rest of the Resistance factions are in a constant agreement, and the enemy will not be able to drive a wedge between us."

Al-Nakhalah said that "Hamas did not participate in the battle, but it is the backbone of the cradle of resistance, and we will preserve our unity."