Zahhar: Next round of negotiations on Shalit tougher

Zahhar: Next round of negotiations on Shalit tougher

[ 04/07/2010 - 06:39 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar, political bureau member of Hamas, on Sunday reassured relatives of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails that his movement's position in the next round of talks on the prisoners' exchange deal would be tougher than before.

He was speaking to relatives of prisoners who walked to his house and handed him a message asking Hamas not to ease its conditions in return for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Zahhar affirmed that his movement would resort to all means possible to liberate prisoners from Israeli jails, adding that Israeli lies and tricks would not weaken Hamas's position.

For his part, Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, said that the Israeli government was making a big "fabricated" fuss about Shalit in a bid to vent the Israeli street's anger over its failure to secure Shalit's freedom.

He said that there is nothing new in the issue, adding that Netanyahu and all concerned parties should know that there would be no freedom for Shalit without paying a price.

Shifting to another issue, Abu Zuhri, in a press statement on Sunday, said that the threat by the PA in Ramallah to go to the UN Security Council to declare the independent Palestinian state in response to the failure of negotiations with Israel would be a futile step.

He said that such a step would mean an indirect announcement of the death of the peace process, adding that there is no other option but resistance to force Israel to acknowledge Palestinian rights.

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