Germany is brokering indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas with aim of facilitating a prisoner exchange deal, London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat reported Thursday.
Hamas is holding the remains of two Israeli soldiers, Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul and Lt. Hadar Goldin, killed in the Gaza Strip in 2014. Ethiopian Israeli Avera Mengistu and Bedouin Israeli Hisham al-Sayed, both suffering from mental health issues, crossed into Gaza willingly in 2014 and 2015 and were captured by the terrorist group.
Germany was the primary broker between Israel and Gaza's rulers during the five-year effort to secure the return of Gilad Schalit, an Israeli soldier captured in June 2006 and released in October 2011 in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian terrorists.
According to Al-Hayat, German envoys have been holding secret meetings on the issue with Hamas leaders in Gaza over the past three years and have discussed holding third-party negotiations so as to promote a prisoner exchange deal.
Sources privy to the meetings told the paper that these indirect talks involve both German diplomats stationed in Israel and a Berlin-based German mediator.
Egypt, which is traditionally involved in all indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, has been briefed on Germany's efforts, the report said.
Should a prisoner exchange take place, Cairo is poised to supervise its completion on the ground, as it did in the Schalit deal.
The London-based paper gave no details on the progress, if any, made in the negotiations.
Goldin's brother, Tzur, demanded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take immediate action to advance the deal.
"Enough talking. Enough talking about mediators and prisoner exchange deals. What we need is a solid diplomatic initiative and that depends only on Netanyahu," he tweeted.
He later told Israeli media that "the return of the captives must be a prerequisite for any humanitarian rehabilitation deal offered [to Gaza]. We're not talking about denying them food, but rather about any long-term solution that's supposed to create a difference diplomatic and security reality in the south.
"We have to send Hamas a clear message," he demanded. "When it abducts [Israelis] it doesn't get prisoners or to mark any other achievement for terrorism. It must return the captives and it would be wise to think twice before staging abductions in the future.
"A humanitarian deal should be offered only in exchange for the humanitarian release [of the captives]. Humanitarian [gestures] cannot be one-sided – they have to be reciprocated," Goldin said.
Mengistu's brother, Ilan, said the family has not been briefed on any new initiative or progress on the issue.
"There is no doubt that there is incompetence and indifference on the government's part," he said.
Lebanon's Al-Akhbar newspaper reported Wednesday that several countries were trying to mediate between Israel and Hamas, but are keeping their efforts on the "consultation level."
According to the report, Head of Qatar's Gaza Reconstruction Committee Mohammed Al-Emadi has recently presented Hamas with a proposal seeking to ensure humanitarian aid to Gaza as well as secure the return of the Israelis held in the coastal enclave.
