Hamas denies Qatari mediation with Israel

Hamas has denied any Qatari mediation between the movement and Israel related to the blockade on the Gaza Strip and Israelis captured by the resistance in the territory, Arabi21 reported on Friday.

An official of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, who requested anonymity, told the news website that the reports about Hamas’s agreement on a Qatari proposal “are incorrect”. He refused to give more details about this issue, said the London-based site.

Media reports had earlier claimed that Hamas had accepted a proposal offered by Qatar to hand over a short video of the Israelis captured in Gaza in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners re-arrested after being freed as part of a 2011 prisoner swap between the movement and Israel.

Hamas’s military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, captured a number of Israelis, including two soldiers, during Israel’s military offensive against the people of Gaza in 2014. The resistance movement has said that it will release them in return for the release of Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli jails.