Hamas proposes exchanging all Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners in “one go” during the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, with the aim of reaching a permanent truce and a full Israeli pullout.
The Palestinian group also confirms it will release the remaining six living captives, who were set to be freed in the first phase, on Saturday, as Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar says negotiations for the second stage of the deal “will happen this week”.
The Palestinian group has just released a statement outlining its positions during the negotiations for a second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
“We are ready for a second phase in which the prisoners will be exchanged in one go, within the criterion of reaching an agreement that leads to a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from the Strip,” the statement said.
The group also rejected Israel’s call for its disarmament and removal from the Gaza Strip.
“The occupation’s condition of removing Hamas from the Gaza Strip is a ridiculous psychological war, and the withdrawal or disarmament of the resistance from Gaza is unacceptable,” said Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for the group.
“Any arrangements for the future of the Gaza Strip will be through national consensus,” he said.
Qassem also addressed the group’s decision to increase the number of captives to be freed during the next swap on Saturday from three to six.
“Doubling the number of prisoners to be released was done in response to a request from the mediators and to prove our seriousness in implementing all the terms of the agreement,” he said.
In exchange, Israel will be release “a number of prisoners with life sentences and long sentences,” he added.
Meanwhile, clashes erupted in the town of Beit Rima, northwest of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank as Israeli forces detained a group of young men.
Israeli army and settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have surged since the start of the Gaza war on October 7, 2023, with an average of four incidents of violence occurring daily.
