The head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, and deputy head of its military wing Marwan Issa traveled to Cairo Dec. 1. Sources in the Hamas and Fatah movements told Al-Monitor that Issa’s presence was related to Egyptian efforts to cobble together an Israel-Hamas prisoner-exchange deal.
Issa, second-in-command to Mohammed al-Deif, is a member of the closed inner circle that conducted the negotiations for the 2011 release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held by Hamas for five years. Since Sinwar was picked earlier this year to head Hamas in Gaza, Issa has been serving as liaison between the organization’s military and political wings. In essence, he took over from Sinwar, who was in charge of prisoner affairs before being appointed to the top job in the Gaza Strip. Ever since he himself was freed from an Israeli prison as part of the Shalit deal, Sinwar has placed a premium on the issue of Palestinians jailed by Israel.
