Hamas official: Rumors of talks with Israel exaggerated
A senior Hamas source claims that rumors about negotiations with Israel for a long-term truce are exaggerated, saying that the only issue seriously on the table is an exchange of Hamas prisoners and the bodies of two IDF soldiers.
![PALESTINIAN-UNITY/ Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh gestures as leaves his office as a former Hamas government Prime Minister, in Gaza City June 2, 2014. President Mahmoud Abbas swore in a Palestinian unity government on Monday under a reconciliation deal with Hamas Islamists that led Israel to freeze U.S.-brokered peace talks with the Western-backed leader. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3RTYV](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2015/07/RTR3RTYV.jpg/RTR3RTYV.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=dRY61GfE)
For quite some time now, reports have been circulating in the media about communication between Israel and Hamas toward "hudna" — a long-term truce between the parties. In an Al-Monitor article June 30, Uri Savir reported that a source in the prime minister's office confirmed to him that there had been an exchange of messages between Israel and Hamas; however, as the source noted, the parties are still too far apart.
The messages, the deliberate leaks and, above all, the hopes of Gaza residents for a change and an improvement in their own situation and in the overall state of the Gaza Strip have triggered a wave of rumors that a historic agreement between Israel and Hamas is not only possible, but also closer than ever. And anyone looking for confirmation and corroboration could find them in the statements made July 4 by former Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.