9/28/2024–|Last updated: 9/28/202405:06 PM (Mecca time)
Member of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Basem Naim, denied what Israeli media reported about Hamas’ approval of a proposal to release all its Israeli prisoners within 3 weeks in exchange for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army from the Gaza Strip.
Naim added – in statements to Tel Aviv Tribune Net – that Gershon Baskin, who adopted this agreement, is no longer connected to the government system and security services in Israel, and that his role is limited only to the fact that some families of prisoners seek help from him in order to contribute to reaching an agreement to release their children, after Its conviction that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is obstructing reaching any deal.
Baskin is an American writer, political analyst, and peace activist, and his name was mentioned frequently during the negotiations accompanying the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011, in a historic deal under which Israel released more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit.
Deal details
Israeli media reported yesterday, Friday, that “Baskin” submitted correspondence between him and a senior Hamas official stating that talks took place last Tuesday with the movement’s approval of a proposal to release all Israeli prisoners – including civilians and soldiers, living and dead – within only 3 weeks, in exchange for the release of… The release of Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, and the guarantee of a ceasefire for 5 years without any military activity.
The media added that there are international guarantees regarding the entry of aid and rehabilitation equipment into Gaza, and this will be under the supervision of an international committee, in addition to that the agreement also includes the establishment of a technocratic government in Gaza, and it will be without the participation of the Hamas or Fatah movements.
A member of the Hamas Political Bureau said that it was possible to reach a deal months ago, but what is obstructing reaching this deal is Netanyahu, “who has proven at every stage that he does not want to reach a deal, and that his entry into the negotiations and sending delegations was in order to gain more.” He has time to implement what he plans.
Naim condemned receiving Netanyahu at the United Nations yesterday, Friday, “despite him being prosecuted by the International Criminal Court as a war criminal, and accused by the International Court of Justice of committing a mass massacre, and we expected that he would refuse to receive him or be prevented from speaking.”
He also pointed out that the speech delivered by Netanyahu confirms that he does not want to reach any agreement, as “from the highest platform of the United Nations, he threatens the entire region and not the Palestinians alone or Hamas alone, and announces that he plans to change the map of the Middle East.”
