Palestinian resistance: Prisoner exchange sole path to free Israeli captives

Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, confirmed yesterday that the only solution for Israel to recover its captives is through a prisoner exchange deal.

The group’s spokesperson, Abu Hamza, said: “The ongoing developments since the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood have proven that the only way to recover captives and restore stability is through a prisoner exchange.”

He stressed that the Palestinian resistance has fulfilled its duties and commitments, while the enemy has left its captives in danger and uncertainty.

Abu Hamza held the Israeli government responsible for evading its obligations towards the Palestinian people and for continuous violations of the ceasefire agreement. He added that the fate of the captives held by the resistance depends on Netanyahu’s actions, whether negatively or positively.

He reaffirmed: “Our firm position is that we remain committed to the ceasefire agreement in all its details, as long as the enemy adheres to it.”

The ceasefire in Gaza, in place since 19 January, has been thrown into doubt after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday the military would resume bombing Gaza if Hamas did not release captives by Saturday.

Hamas said it would not continue to release Israeli captives if Israel did not abide by the terms of the truce.

Under the terms of the deal, Israel was due to allow in 12,000 trucks of aid but has so far only allowed 8,500 to enter the besieged enclave, 50 trucks of fuel a day were also due to enter Gaza to allow emergency services and hospitals to operate, however only 15 are being allowed to trickle in. In addition, occupation forces have allowed no mobile homes to enter the enclave in spite of the ceasefire deal outlining that 60,000 would be allowed in, while only 20,000 of the 200,000 tents agreed to have entered Gaza.

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