Moussa Dudin, Hamas political bureau member in charge of the prisoners’ file, told Palinfo on Dec. 4 that Egypt, Gemany, Qatar, Sweden and Turkey along with an unnamed sixth country are working to conclude a prisoner exchange deal between the movement and Israel.
Hamas holds the remains of two Israeli soldiers, Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, captured during the 2014 war. The group is also holding Hisham al-Sayed, an Israeli Arab, and Avera Avraham Mengistu, an Ethiopian Jew, both of whom entered Gaza voluntarily in 2014. Among Palestinian prisoners of particular interest to Hamas are dozens whom Israel had previously released in a 2011 swap but then later rearrested.