According to reports that emerged on July 9, Israel sent Hamas a new outline for a prisoner-exchange deal through an intermediary. The Palestinian sources cited argued that the Israeli proposal was meager, offering only the return of bodies of Palestinian assailants in exchange for the bodies of IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, or the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel ‘with no blood on their hands,’ meaning those who were not involved in the killing of Israeli nationals.
The Palestinian sources insisted that the new outline was not a serious offer but a test designed to manipulate, to lower expectations and lead to deeper negotiations.
