Hamas official denies reports of progress in prisoner swap talks with Israel

A senior Hamas official on Thursday dismissed reports of progress toward a prisoner swap with Israel, after officials in Jerusalem had signaled negotiations were nearing a potential breakthrough.

Maher Obeid, a member of the terror group’s political bureau, told the Hamas-affiliated daily al-Resalah that recent reports are just attempts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to placate the “Zionist street” and the families of the civilians and fallen soldiers currently being held in Gaza.

“There are no real contacts, and there is no mediator assigned by the Israeli occupation to discuss the issue in a real and effective manner,” Obeid said.

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Obeid added that Egypt and Russia had been passing messages between the sides but had not come forward with a substantial offer.

A former Mossad official who was involved in the 2011 deal to free Gilad Shalit expressed optimism about the possibility of a prisoner swap between Israel and the Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group in an interview published Wednesday.

“It seems there is a real possibility at the moment for a deal between Hamas and Israel for the release of the captives and the missing,” David Meidan told German weekly Die Zeit, according to the Ynet news site. “The gaps aren’t so great.”

“Hamas, for its part, is under pressure because of the coronavirus pandemic and fears that when it erupts, it may be left without adequate medical equipment,” said Meidan, who previously served as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appointed representative overseeing efforts to return Israelis held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

However, according to the report, German officials are wary of their Israeli counterparts’ optimism.

The possibility of a deal to return two Israeli captives — Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed — and the bodies of two IDF soldiers being held in the Gaza Strip has appeared to pick up momentum recently.

According to the Die Ziet report, Zehava Shaul, whose son Oron’s body is held by Hamas, visited Berlin in December 2017 and, during a series of meetings arranged by the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli officials, asked Germany to take a role in possible negotiations for a deal.

Three months later, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas arrived in Israel and met with Netanyahu, with the two men agreeing that Berlin would take an active role in negotiations.

Israeli officials last month reportedly quietly confirmed that “significant” talks were underway with Hamas.

The government’s current chief negotiator for the release of Israelis held by the terror group updated families last week regarding the prisoner swap talks, while a senior Hamas official reacted Sunday to reported progress, saying the terror group was willing to “sacrifice everything” to win the release of its members from Israeli prisons.

Husam Badran, the Gaza-based movement’s international spokesman and a member of its political bureau, said Hamas was aiming to make “a significant achievement” in the deal but wasn’t eager to discuss the details in the media.

“The further things are from the eye of the media, the more there are positive and practical results,” he said, according to Hebrew-language media reports.

Defense Minister Naftali Bennett was asked about the possibility of a prisoner swap during a press conference on Sunday, but refused to comment on any specific developments.

“I oppose releasing murderers. Period,” Bennett said.

Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday said he too would oppose a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.

“If there’s a deal like this I’ll oppose it with all my might,” he told the Ynet news site, adding that Netanyahu had refused his request for the security cabinet to discuss a potential swap deal. “I’m troubled,” he said. “The release of terrorists is a red line that can’t be crossed.”

While Hamas has in recent weeks expressed interest in reaching a deal, the terror group, which is the de facto ruler in the Strip and openly seeks Israel’s destruction, has said that in order for such a deal to take place, Israel must first release all teenage, female and elderly prisoners in addition to those who were rearrested after the 2011 Shalit deal, when more than 1,000 terror convicts were freed in exchange for a single IDF soldier.

Ismail Haniyeh, who leads the Gaza-based group, has said that he was optimistic there was a chance to reach a prisoner swap deal with Israel, and that the group was ready for indirect negotiations.

After weeks of quiet, Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket into Israel early Wednesday that landed in an open area, causing no injuries or damage, the IDF said. The IDF said that in response tanks shelled three Hamas military positions in the northern Gaza Strip.

Israel and Hamas have in the past failed to advance in the talks, in part because each has demanded a different timetable. Hamas has demanded two rounds of prisoner releases — the first in exchange for information on the captives, the second in exchange for the actual delivery to Israel of the captives and the soldiers’ bodies. Israel has refused, insisting that any deal must take place in a single exchange.