️BREAKING: Hamas Statement - Without Halting the War… There Will Be No Prisoner Exchange
Key statements by Dr. Khalil Al-Hayya, Acting Head of Hamas in Gaza and Head of the Movement’s Office for Arab and Islamic Relations:
The issue is not about the prisoners or Philadelphia. The problem lies in Netanyahu specifically not wanting to reach an agreement. He stated in the Knesset: "Hamas wants to stop the war, and we do not want to stop the war. We want to recover the prisoners."
If the aggression does not stop, why should the resistance, particularly Hamas, return the prisoners? How can we hand over the "israeli" prisoners in our custody while the war continues? Who, in their right mind or otherwise, would hold a strong card and discard it while the war is ongoing?
We have put forward numerous continuous and extended initiatives, showing great flexibility to enter negotiations aimed at ending the aggression and completing a prisoner exchange deal.
There are ongoing communications with some countries and mediators to advance the negotiations. We are ready and proactive in continuing these efforts.
The most important issue is the existence of a genuine will on the part of the occupation to halt the aggression. However, the reality proves that Netanyahu is the obstacle, as has been witnessed by both near and far.
A week before the U.S. elections, the Americans presented a proposal that did not include even a partial ceasefire for several days, offering the release of 15 "israeli" prisoners, followed by a resumption of the war.
The Americans consider our rejection of their proposal as evidence of our lack of cooperation. However, the truth is that the proposal did not address stopping the aggression or war, nor did it mention the return of displaced people or the withdrawal of the occupation.
We rejected the American proposal and reaffirmed that we are ready to engage in the agreement reached on 2/7, based on the UN Security Council resolution adopting the initiative.
Is Netanyahu ready to adopt his proposal?
Is he prepared for serious negotiations to halt the aggression and exchange prisoners?
We are fully prepared for this.
Thursday, 19 Jumada Al-Awwal 1446 AH
Corresponding to: November 21, 2024
Mike