Deputy Hamas chief in Gaza Khalil al-Hayya told Al-Jazeera on Monday that if Israel doesn’t pay the price of an alleged prisoner-exchange deal in the making, “its captives won’t see the light of day.”
Al-Hayya’s interview with the Qatar-owned satellite news network came on the heels of a report on Sunday that Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel was expected later this month to present Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett with a proposal for a prisoner-swap agreement to which Hamas has already agreed in principle.
In the interview, al-Hayya said that Hamas was conditioning the deal on the release of terrorist masterminds Marwan Barghouti of the rival Fatah faction and Ahmad Sa’adat of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Sa’adat orchestrated the 2001 assassination of former minister Rehavam Ze’evi in Jerusalem. Barghouti was convicted for his role in numerous deadly attacks against Israeli civilians during the Second Intifada.
The deputy Hamas leader went on to say that he was proud of Iranian support.
“Tehran transfers ongoing aid to Hamas in any way possible,” said al-Hayya. “It helped and helps the forces and the capabilities of the resistance in Palestine.”
This report first appeared in Israel Hayom.