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COVID-19 Prompts Israel and Hamas to Explore Prisoner Swap

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COVID-19 Prompts Israel and Hamas to Explore Prisoner Swap MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA COVID-19 Prompts Israel and Hamas to Explore Prisoner Swap OE Watch Commentary: In early April, Hamas and Israel signaled their willingness to explore indirect negotiations over a potential prisoner swap. The move came amid an outbreak of COVID-19 in both Israel and the Gaza Strip. The accompanying passages from local sources discuss this prospect as well as the humanitarian needs of the Gaza Strip in light of the outbreak, which could be part of the potential negotiations. The first passage from The Jerusalem Post discusses that Hamas has shown a willingness to negotiate with Israel over the return of the bodies of Israeli soldiers Hadar Goldin and Shail Oron who were killed in the 2014 Israel-Gaza Conflict as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham as-Sayyid currently held by Hamas. The leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar stated, “We are ready to make partial concessions on our prisoners issue in exchange for Israel’s release of elderly prisoners, patients, and prisoners as a humanitarian gesture in light of the IDF facilitated the transfer of approximately 100 tons of medical supplies and goods into Gaza through Kerem Shalom Crossing. July 19, 2014. coronavirus crisis.” The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office Source: Israel Defense Forces via Wikimedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Transferring_Goods_and_Medical_Supplies_into_Gaza_(14716916773).jpg, CC BY-SA 2.0 called for immediate negotiations with Hamas through intermediaries to return the bodies and captive civilians held by Hamas. Israel Defense Minister Naftali Bennett mentioned linking humanitarian aid the Gaza Strip needs to fight COVID-19 to the recovery of Israelis held in the Gaza Strip. “There is talk of the humanitarian world in Gaza… Israel also has humanitarian needs, which are mainly the recovery of the fallen,” Bennett stated, “and I think that we need to enter a broad dialogue about Gaza’s and our humanitarian needs. It would not be right to disconnect these things.” According to the second article by Avi Issacharoff from The Times of Israel, Israel is having Egyptian mediators ask Hamas leadership for greater detail about the group’s negotiation position. Moreover, Israel told Egyptian mediators the Israeli Government is willing to exchange food, medical equipment, and a limited number of elderly and female Palestinian prisoners for the release of Israelis held in the Gaza Strip. The last passage from Al-Monitor outlines the threat COVID-19 poses to the Gaza Strip. Two Palestinians traveling from Pakistan and Cairo into the Gaza Strip have already introduced the virus into the densely populated territory. In the event the virus does spread rapidly in the Gaza Strip, the article outlines how the Gazan health system does not have the capacity to handle a large outbreak of COVID-19, which only has 70 intensive care unit beds and 65 ventilators for a population of 2 million people. The World Health Organization has provided disinfectant, protective gear, and 1,000 test kits for Gazans through the Israeli office of the Coordination and Liaison Administration (CLA), which is the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) unit responsible for coordinating movement from Israel into the Gaza Strip. End OE Watch Commentary (Fesen) “I think that we need to enter a broad dialogue about Gaza’s and our humanitarian needs. It would not be right to disconnect these things.” OE Watch | May 2020 59 MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA Continued: COVID-19 Prompts Israel and Hamas to Explore Prisoner Swap Source: Lahav Harkov, “Netanyahu: I’m willing to negotiate captives’ release with Hamas,” The Jerusalem Post, 7 April 2020. https://www. jpost.com/breaking-news/netanyahu-im-willing-to-negotiate-captives-release-with-hamas-623910 “The coordinator for captives and missing people, Yaron Bloom…with the National Security Council…are prepared to act constructively with a goal to return the bodies and missing people and end this matter, and call for an immediate discussion through intermediaries,” the Prime Minister’s Office statement read. Hamas has held the bodies of IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since Operation Protective Edge in 2014 and has civilians Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed in captivity. Sinwar said… “ready to make partial concessions on our prisoners issue in exchange for Israel’s release of elderly prisoners, patients and female prisoners as a humanitarian gesture in light of the coronavirus crisis…” Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said…“there is talk of the humanitarian world in Gaza… Israel also has humanitarian needs, which are mainly the recovery of the fallen” – meaning Goldin and Shaul – “and I think that we need to enter a broad dialogue about Gaza’s and our humanitarian needs. It would not be right to disconnect these things.” Source: Avi Issacharoff, “Progress said made in talks for return of prisoners held in Gaza amid virus fears,”The Times of Israel, 5 April 2020. https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/progress-said-made-in-talks-for-return-of-prisoners-held-in-gaza-amid-virus-fears/ …Israel had asked Egyptian mediators to talk to the Hamas leadership and clarify Sinwar’s statements. Israel consulted with Egypt on the possibility of resuming negotiations for the exchange of prisoners and in return will allow food and medical equipment into the Gaza Strip and the release of a number of elderly men and women incarcerated in Israel. Source: Shlomi Eldar, “As coronavirus spreads to Gaza, Israel can offer little,”Al-Monitor , 27 March 2020. https://www.al-monitor.com/ pulse/originals/2020/03/israel-physician-for-human-rights-gaza-strip-palestinians.html One Israeli source involved in what has been happening in Gaza describes how the virus-carriers got infected. It all started about two weeks ago, when two Palestinians arrived in Gaza after spending time in Pakistan and Cairo. They arrived at the border crossing with Egypt by bus, together with many other Gazans, and when they crossed over into the Gaza Strip… on March 25, only 144 tests were conducted on a population of approximately 2 million, squeezed into a densely populated area with extremely poor conditions to maintain hygiene. The continued spread of the virus will definitely result in the collapse of the already impoverished health system in Gaza, where the total number of intensive care beds is just 70, and there are only 65 ventilators, some of them already in use. The Israeli office of the Coordination and Liaison Administration (CLA) for Gaza announced that 1,000 test kits, protective equipment and disinfectant were provided to Gaza… “This undertaking by the World Health Organization… China’s cyber policy appears to have three vectors —peace activist, espionage activist, and attack planner— that dominate China’s cyber policy. Some are always hidden from view while others are demonstrated daily. Three Faces of the Cyber Dragon is divided into sections that coincide with these vectors. https://community.apan.org/wg/tradoc-g2/fmso/m/fmso-books/195610/download OE Watch | May 2020 60.
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