Any prisoner exchange deal excluding detained Palestinian figures is impossible, al-Qassam spokesperson Abu Obaida has said.  

In a press statement on the anniversary of capturing Israeli solider Gilad Shalit by the Palestinian resistance in 2006, Abu Obaida stressed that the Israeli occupation “has to pay the price for a potential swap deal, willingly or by force.”

Hammering a new prisoner exchange agreement with the Israeli occupation is a top priority for the Palestinian resistance, Abu Obaida confirmed.

The red lines that have been crossed in Wafa al-Ahrar deal will be crossed again in any coming swap agreement, Abu Obaida continued, adding: “We will not bother negotiating for less than such price.” 

Abu Obaida pointed out that the Palestinian resistance had many options to force the Israeli occupation to pay a price that is “unprecedented in the history of the Palestinian struggle against the occupation.”

As for Israeli plans to annex the occupied West Bank and Jordan Valley, Abu Obaida said that the Palestinian resistance considers such move a “declaration of war against the Palestinian people.”