Hamas: We will not hand over Israeli captives without a real deal

Hamas will not hand over Israeli prisoners of war “without a real deal”, the acting head of the movement in the West Bank, Zaher Jabarin, said yesterday.

In a televised statement, Jabarin added, “The occupied West Bank and Jerusalem are in the heart of the Al-Aqsa Flood,” calling on “the West Bank’s resistance to strike the nests of the unjust occupation.”

He added that Hamas had submitted its response to the mediators, noting that it would not hand over “the occupation’s captives except through a real deal.”

“If the occupation wants to know the fate of its captives and return the rest of them alive, it must be serious in the negotiations and stay away from the tricks of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his political calculations that are disrupting the negotiations,” he said.

Last Saturday, Hamas reiterated its commitment to its demands “for a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of the occupation army from all of the Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced to their areas, increased entry of relief and aid, and the start of reconstruction.”

It also confirmed its willingness to “reach a serious and real prisoner exchange deal between the two parties.”

READ: Hamas says no deal without Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and return of the IDPs