Hamas: Hezbollah-Israel prisoners exchange benefits us

Gaza City - The Palestinian militant group Hamas said Friday it would "benefit" from Israel's prisoners exchange with Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, suggesting the deal had strengthened its negotiating position regarding an Israeli soldier it is holding captive in Gaza. "Hamas will benefit from the release (by Israel to Lebanon) of prisoners with blood on their hands and this will help Hamas reach a similar deal," Khalil Hayeh, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza, said. He also called for the appointment of an international mediator to speed up the indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, similar to the German official appointed by the United Nations, Gerhard Conrad, who brokered the Israel-Hezbollah deal. "There should be role for a mediator in completing this deal," Hayeh told the Hamas-run Palestinian Information Centre... [read full story]