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Israel said to offer Hamas prisoner swap

Palestinian sources claim that Israel has offered Hamas a limp proposal for a prisoner-exchange deal.

Hamas security forces stand guard during a visit of newly elected Hamas chief, Ismail Haniya, to protesters taking part in a sit-in in support of Palestinian hunger-striking prisoners held in Israeli jails, on May 8, 2017, in Gaza City. / AFP PHOTO / MAHMUD HAMS        (Photo credit should read MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)
Hamas security forces stand guard during a visit of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh to protesters taking part in a sit-in in support of Palestinian hunger-striking prisoners held in Israeli jails, on May 8, 2017, in Gaza City. — MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images

According to reports that emerged on July 9, Israel sent Hamas a new outline for a prisoner-exchange deal through an intermediary. The Palestinian sources cited argued that the Israeli proposal was meager, offering only the return of bodies of Palestinian assailants in exchange for the bodies of IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, or the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel ‘with no blood on their hands,’ meaning those who were not involved in the killing of Israeli nationals.

The Palestinian sources insisted that the new outline was not a serious offer but a test designed to manipulate, to lower expectations and lead to deeper negotiations.

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