Political bureau member of Hamas Khalil al-Hayya denied on Monday any negotiations with the Israeli occupation over prisoner swap deals.
Speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony held in Gaza to mark the fifth anniversary of the al-Ahrar prisoner swap deal al-Hayya said the terms for any projected deal with Israel are to be determined by the Palestinian resistance only.
The Hamas official urged Israel to abide by all the bonds of the Wafa al-Ahrar deal and to release the re-detained Palestinians who had been released in the Wafa al-Ahrar deal.
Addressing the Palestinian masses outside the Red Cross headquarters ex-prisoner Iyad Abu Fanouna said armed resistance is the only means to release the detainees from Israeli jails and liberate the holy al-Aqsa Mosque.
“The Wafa al-Ahrar deal proves that what has been taken by force can only be retrieved by force” said Abu Fanouna.
“We will always remember that the Palestinian resistance on such a day some five years ago released the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1027 Palestinian detainees released in two batches” he stated.
Abu Fanouna added that the Palestinians will forever stand by the detainees in Israeli jails.
The Cairo-brokered Wafa al-Ahrar deal was struck between the Palestinian resistance and the Israeli occupation on October 11 2011. It culminated in the release of Gilad Shalit after he had been held captive by Hamas for over five years.
