Lieberman denies not wanting to reach prisoner swap deal

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s officer denied that the minister had objected to a prisoner swap to return the Israeli soldiers believed to be in the hands of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, Felesteen newspaper reported yesterday.

Lieberman had earlier said that he would not return the bodies of the two Israeli soldiers who were believed killed or held in Gaza during the major Israeli offensive against the coastal enclave in 2014.

His comments caused outrage in Israel where the families of the soldiers called for him to be ousted. Lieberman said he is against prisoner swaps.
His views are in opposition to those of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who said he was committed to returning the bodies of the Israelis captured in Gaza.