GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar's expression of his movement’s readiness to hold prisoner-exchange negotiations has stirred mixed reactions in Israel. Shortly after Sinwar’s announcement and far from the media spotlight, Russian and Egyptian mediators siezed the opportunity to move forward a file that has been on hold for more than five years.
In a televised interview with the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa channel on April 3, Sinwar expressed Hamas’ willingness to make partial concessions to Israel regarding a deal to release Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, specifically the elderly, the sick, children and women.
