Hamas will include Jordanian prisoners in any exchange deal

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Top Hamas officials have vowed to include Jordanian prisoners in any future prisoner exchange agreement between the Islamist group and Israel, an activist said yesterday. The promise was made by Hamas leader Khaled Mishaal during a meeting with activists from the professional associations, according to Maysara Malas, head of the national committee for prisoners in Israel. "We received assurances from Mishaal that all Jordanian prisoners will be listed among detainees to be freed from Israeli jails in any upcoming prisoner exchange," Malas told The Jordan Times. Malas met Mishaal during the funeral of the latter's father, who was buried in Amman on Saturday. Thousands of activists from across the political spectra attended the funeral. Mishaal, who holds a Jordanian passport, was given the green light to officially enter Jordan last week "on humanitarian grounds" to attend his father's funeral after 10 years in exile. Malas noted that the association delivered an official letter to Mishaal on Sunday asking him to include Jordanian prisoners in exchange agreements with Israel. Malas said the government should "support all efforts" to have Jordanian prisoners freed from Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said there was no imminent breakthrough on a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas amid media reports of recent progress, thanks to German mediation. The Israeli press has reported that the involvement of German mediators in recent months had led to progress in arranging an exchange of Gilad Shalit for Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli soldier was captured on June 25, 2006 by Palestinian fighters in a cross-border operation and is kept by Hamas as a bargaining chip. There are about 11,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian officials. Earlier this month, activists and families of prisoners in Israel held a sit-in near the Prime Ministry to pressure the government to secure the release of 29 Jordanians in Israeli prisons and disclose the fate of around 30 presumed to be missing. The government has over the past years secured the freedom of dozens of Jordanians held captive in Israel. Some Jordanians are serving multiple life sentences, including Abdullah Barghouthi, who was handed 67 life sentences for his alleged role in bombings inside Israel. By Mohammad Ben Hussein