Hamas says it is willing to finalize an Egypt-brokered deal with Israel that would see the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. "We are not here (in Cairo) on a trip just to leave our brothers in prison, where some of them have been for 25 and 32 years," Hamas deputy leader Moussa Abu Marzouk was quoted by Ynet as telling the Arab media on Saturday. Hamas is "willing to continue talks with our mediating brothers in Egypt in order to try and bring to a deal to completion as quickly as possible, so as to release our brothers from prison," he added.
The Islamic movement had earlier blamed Israel for the failure of talks between the sides on a prisoner swap deal. The Hamas official said although some progress had been made during the negotiations, they were not enough to finalize an agreement.
Hamas and Israel have been negotiating a deal under which hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be released in exchange for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Shalit was captured in a cross border operation by Palestinian fighters in 2006. Israel has been insisting that in case of a prisoner swap deal, high profile prisoners must be expelled from Palestinian territories after their release.