Houthis, Hamas merge diplomacy around prisoner releases
Hamas welcomes a Houthi initiative to release two Saudi airmen the Houthis captured in Yemen in exchange for Saudi Arabia freeing 60 Palestinian prisoners, including a Hamas leader and his son.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Yemen’s Houthi group has suggested that two Saudi airmen captured in February 2020 be released in exchange for the freeing of 60 Palestinians detained in Saudi Arabia, including Hamas members. The proposal follows a similar initiative the Houthis made in the spring.
The head of the Houthis' prisoner affairs committee, Abdul Qader al-Murtada, said in a televised speech Dec. 30 that his group was ready to release the airmen if Saudi Arabia frees the Palestinians.
Hamas welcomed the Houthi initiative.
Saudi Arabia has been detaining a number of Palestinians since early 2019, and brought a number of them before courts on charges of financing a terrorist entity. These Palestinians include Mohammed al-Khodari, 82, who was a Hamas representative between the mid-1990s and 2009 in Saudi Arabia, and his son Hani. Riyadh continues to refuse to respond to any attempts or initiatives regarding their release.
