Hamas: No hostages-for-prisoners swap deal with Israel unless Gaza war ends

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) – Hamas’ acting Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya said in an interview with Al-Aqsa TV released on Wednesday that there would be no hostages-for-prisoners swap deal with Israel unless the war in the Palestinian enclave ended.

“Without an end to the war, there can be no prisoner swap,” Hayya said in a televised interview with the group’s Al-Aqsa television channel, reiterating the group’s position on how to bring the war to an end.

“If the aggression is not ended, why would the resistance and in particular Hamas, return the prisoners (hostages)?” he said. “How would a sane or an insane person lose a strong card he owns while the war is continuing?”

Hayya, who led the group’s negotiating team in talks with Qatari and Egyptian mediators, blamed the lack of progress on Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who in turn holds the Islamist group responsible for the stalled talks.

“There are contacts under way with some countries and mediators to revive this file (negotiation). We are ready to continue with those efforts but it is more important to see a real will on the side of the occupation to end the aggression,” said Hayya.

“The reality proves that Netanyahu is the one who undermines it (negotiations),” he added.

Speaking during a visit to Gaza on Tuesday, Netanyahu said that Hamas would not rule the Palestinian enclave after the war had ended and that Israel had destroyed the Islamist group’s military capabilities.

Netanyahu also said Israel had not given up trying to locate the 101 remaining hostages believed to be still in the enclave, and he offered a $5 million reward for the return of each one.

Hamas wants a deal that ends the war and sees the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held captive in Gaza as well as Palestinians jailed by Israel, while Netanyahu vowed the war can only end once Hamas is eradicated.

(Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi; additional reporting by Enas Alashray and Yomna Ehab; editing by Mark Heinrich, William Maclean)