The Zionist Finance Minister’s opposition to the release of Palestinian prisoners

Bezalel Smotrich, the Minister of Finance of the Zionist regime, refused to agree to the release of Palestinian prisoners as part of any possible ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

According to al-Quds al-Arabi report, on Monday, the Zionist newspaper Israel Times, quoting Smotrich, described the release of Palestinian prisoners as a terrible event that he does not agree with and a red line should be drawn.

Tel Aviv estimates that there are 120 Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip, while Hamas said that more than 70 of them were killed in Israeli attacks. On the other hand, 9,500 Palestinians were captured by the Zionist regime.

Referring to the previous prisoner exchange deal, Smutrich said: We saw what happened in the Shalit deal. We freed Yahya Senvar and we see what we got. 
Condemning this act of the Zionists, he asked: With what logic will we release the next Yahya Sinwar and put thousands of other Israelis at risk? I will oppose it even if it ends my political career. 

He continued: If there are no red lines, you have no right to be in politics. The security organization decided to achieve an illegal transaction at any cost.

With the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and Palestinian groups in Gaza and the Zionist regime, they have been conducting shaky indirect negotiations for months to conclude a ceasefire agreement and exchange of prisoners.

Translator: Mina Azimi