On April 17 every year, Palestinians commemorate Prisoners’ Day.  But what was unusual this year were statements by Hamas leaders claiming that the only means to release Palestinian prisoners was by forcing Israel to exchange prisoners. That was said by the head of Hamas’s political bureau, Khaled Meshaal. 

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza made a speech that untied the hands of the Al-Qassam Brigades to resolve the prisoners’ issue and end their tragedy and suffering. He praised the successful kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and holding him for five years.

"The imprisonment of Shalit by the Izz al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, and the completion of the [prisoner] swap deal in exchange for his release, is evidence that this file is one of the open files in our central conflict with the occupation. The occupation will not enjoy security and stability as long as our prisoners remain in their prisons, being tortured in the ugliest of ways," he said.

The Vice-President of the Legislative Council, Ahmed Bahar, advised the armed factions to “set in motion their options” to liberate Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails by all means necessary. The Prisoners’ Minister Atallah Abu al-Sabah stressed the necessity to activate the resistance option in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip because it is the most effective way to release the prisoners.