Hamas rejects Israeli prisoner swap proposal

The Palestinian Hamas terrorist organization rejected Israeli proposals to release all of its prisoners and bodies in return for two Israelis who crossed into the Gaza Strip and the remains of two fallen soldiers, Brig. Gen. (res) Lior Lotan, the prime minister’s adviser on prisoners and missing persons, reported Tuesday. Hamas refused to surrender Afar Mengistu and Hisham a-Sayed despite medical documents confirming their condition. Also rejected was the handover of the remains of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were missing and presumed killed in the last IDF counter-terror operation in the Gaza Strip. Lotan made this disclosure at a conference of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.