Monday, December 7, 2009

Hard bargaining


The last mile is the hardest: negotiations intensify as Israel and Hamas move towards sealing a prisoner swap deal

By Khaled Amayreh in occupied Jerusalem
Al-Ahram Weekly

"....."They [Israel] want to exhaust and frustrate Hamas to give in and concede on its original demands. But that is not going to happen because all our brothers in Zionist jails are viewed as equal. We don't pay any attention to Israeli classifications of prisoners as some having blood on their hands and others who don't. You know Israeli soldiers and officers have tons upon tons of Palestinian blood on their hands. Israel is in no moral or legal position to lecture us on terror and murder since Israel itself is a crime against humanity."

Asked for his personal opinion on whether a prisoner deal was imminent, Youssef said: "I am sorry to disappoint you. There will be a deal eventually, of course, but not in the next few days or even next few weeks. The Israelis are masters of deceit and prevarication, and we will not be tricked by them. We, too, are tough negotiators.""

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