Hamas Downplays Israel's Prisoner Release
Hamas fears that Fatah's ability to secure a prisoner release via negotiations may undermine its resistance-only approach to freeing Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Although Hamas has welcomed the release of 26 detainees from Israeli prisons, the Islamic Resistance Movement is not particularly happy about it.
Not so long ago, in 2011, Hamas had achieved a breakthrough by securing the release of 1,047 Palestinian detainees through a prisoner exchange involving the return of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Today, suffering a sharp blow from the toppling of the Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt and in a state of political confusion from its repercussions, Hamas has sought to downplay the release of the relatively small number of long-serving Palestinian prisoners within the context of the resumption of negotiations between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel under US sponsorship.
Fatah Chairman and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas believes that the best way to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is through a peaceful solution, which would include the release of political detainees held in Israeli prisons. He rejects military action as a means of resistance, as adopted by his political rival Hamas.
Hamas had experienced a sort of 'political euphoria' because of its ability to hold Shalit for more than five years and to force Israel to agree to the release of prisoners in exchange for him. This increased its popularity among Palestinians, as it brought joy to more than a thousand Palestinian homes. Hamas believes today, however, that its rival's success in releasing Palestinian prisoners within the umbrella of negotiations will dissuade some Palestinians of the notion that the price paid by Gaza for the capture of Shalit was worth the sacrifice.
