GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel has returned to the forefront as competition begins to heat up between Israeli parties seeking to attract voters in the April 9 Knesset elections.
In a Jan. 19 report, Qatar’s London-based Al-Araby al-Jadeed newspaper quoted Hamas sources as saying the group was contacted by an unnamed European country, as well as Cairo, to mediate negotiations with Israel on the swap issue.