Israel will not agree prisoner swap with Hamas, insists Ya'alon

Israel’s defence minister said on Monday that the government will not agree a prisoner swap with Hamas for the release of two soldiers held captive in the Gaza Strip, Anadolu has reported.

Moshe Ya’alon made his comments on Israeli radio when he called on Hamas to release the two soldiers “without any conditions”. He noted that both men are suffering from psychological disorders and they entered the besieged territory voluntarily. The minister said that Israel had attempted to free the prisoners in different ways, but that was done behind closed doors.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced that two Israelis were lost in the Gaza Strip last year. It accused Hamas of capturing them and called for their release. According to Anadolu, the IDF claims that Avram Mengistu, 29 and from Ashkelon, was “dragged” into the Gaza Strip, contradicting Ya’alon’s claim that he entered the coastal enclave “voluntarily”.

Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that a second Israeli, affiliated to a certain minority in the state, was detained by Hamas in the wake of last year’s offensive on the people of Gaza.