Hamas: Israel must abide by previous agreements

If Israel doesn’t comply with the terms of the Shalit prisoner swap deal with Hamas there are no grounds for a new agreement, a senior Hamas leader said.

Speaking to the Shehab news agency, the group’s deputy head Mousa Abu Marzouk said: “When Israel releases prisoners who were detained without cause, we can talk about a new deal.

Remarking on international moves to break the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip, Abu Marzouk said that there are meetings and contacts with various European parties, noting that his movement does not oppose meeting with anyone.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has met with the movement’s leadership several times, he added.

Remarking on the Israeli-Turkish reconciliation and its impact on the Gaza Strip, Abu Marzouk said the occupation could not achieve its goals by isolating Hamas in Turkey and Turkey could not break the siege, therefore it had opted to solve some of the problems resulting from the blockade .

He pointed out that the Turkish-Israeli agreement will have a positive effect on the Gaza Strip in the fields of electricity, water, reconstruction and health, and this will ease the blockade.

Abu Marzouk described Turkey’s bid to break the siege as “noble”.