Hamas rejects linking Gaza reconstruction with prisoner swap with Israel

On Monday, Egyptian security chief Abbas Kamel arrived in the Gaza Strip through Erez Crossing point on the borders with the occupied territories of Palestine to hold talks with leaders of Palestinian factions, including Hamas movement.

Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas leader, told reporters at the end of a meeting with Kamel that Hamas leaders discussed with the Egyptian security delegation the cease-fire with Israel and the process of reconstruction in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian sources, close to Hamas, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that Kamel discussed with the movement's leader a possible prisoner swap deal with Israel.

The sources said that Kamel, who met on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, carried an Israeli message that links between reconstruction and the missing Israelis in Gaza.

"In regards to the issue of prisoner exchange with the occupation (Israel), it is an independent subject and we will never accept linking it to the issue of reconstruction in the Gaza Strip," al-Hayya said.

Meanwhile, Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy chief of Hamas abroad, tweeted that Hamas movement completely rejects linking the issue of reconstruction in the Gaza Strip with the issue of the release of the Israelis held in the enclave.