Zahar: Hamas will not provide information on missing Israeli soldiers for free

Israel requested information regarding missing Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip to mark the beginning of a new prisoner swap deal with Hamas, one of the movement’s senior leaders said yesterday.

During an exclusive interview with Quds.Net, Mahmoud Al-Zahar said that Hamas refused to provide any information regarding whether or not it is holding Israeli soldiers in its custody in the Gaza Strip because Israel insists on violating every agreement with the Palestinians.

Al-Zahar said: “The Israeli occupation did not respect the Palestinian-Israeli deal concluded under Egyptian auspices in 2010 which led to freeing 1,029 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit,” noting that Israel imprisoned several freed Palestinians afterwards.

Remarking on the possibility of a new confrontation between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Al-Zahar said: “The resistance in Lebanon has every right to respond to the Israeli aggression.”

In response to a question regarding whether Hamas would support Hezbollah in the event of a confrontation, Al-Zahar said that Hezbollah has enough strength to confront the occupation and that Hamas will support Hezbollah with the allowed means.

Six Hezbollah members and five Iranians were killed last week in what is believed to be an Israeli raid on the Quneitra in the Syrian part of the Golan Heights.

Iran and Hezbollah promised to respond to the Israeli strike in the right place and time.

Palestinian factions condemned the Israeli attack with Hamas and Islamic Jihad stressing that Hezbollah “has the right to respond to this crime”.