Haneyya: Hamas ready for prisoner swap talks through third party

Head of Hamas’s political bureau Ismail Haneyya said his Movement is ready to negotiate, through a mediator, a prisoner swap deal with the Israeli side.

In televised remarks on Tuesday, Haneyya affirmed that the Palestinian resistance would work on achieving the hope of the Palestinian people and extract the freedom of prisoners in Israeli jails.

He expressed his belief that the Israeli occupation would accept a prisoner swap deal sooner or later, stressing that his Movement would tread every path in order to liberate the prisoners and end their suffering.

“We renew the oath of manhood, resistance and steadfastness to the families of prisoners, and we will remain loyal to the martyrs, prisoners, the wounded, refugees, and the return to the Palestinian national territory with Jerusalem as its eternal capital,” the Hamas official said.

As for the Palestinian unity, Haneyya reiterated his Movement’s readiness to go far to heal the rift in the Palestinian arena and form a national council able to bring all major Palestinian factions together in accordance with Beirut understandings.