With the help of a third party, Egypt and Jordan continue to coordinate on Palestinian issues, Palestinian and Western diplomatic sources disclosed to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

A potential prisoner swap between the Palestinian resistance in Gaza and the Israeli occupation is at the top of the Egyptian-Jordanian agenda.

The sources revealed that Egypt and Jordan expect Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be the only Israeli leader who can take dramatic decisions that the Israeli public could see as “shocking”.

A Western source told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the issue of a prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel could soon rise to the surface.

The source attributed this to the fact that Netanyahu: “Hopes to introduce himself to the Israelis with a popular victory represented in the release of the four Israelis captured by Hamas.”

Egypt and Jordan have been working on solving the issue, which undermined reaching a prisoner swap three times in the past, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported, noting Hamas’s persistence in releasing Palestinian prisoners with severe sentences.

Information obtained by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed pointed out that Egypt and Jordan had an initial proposal for this – likely deporting prisoners to Jordan or a third country to be chosen at a later date.

Al-Araby Al-Jadeed stated that there are ongoing talks on this matter, limited to official circles in both Arab countries.

It is worth noting that on Wednesday, Hamas denied Israeli reports that there had been progress on the issue of a prisoner swap but pledged to continue exerting efforts to free Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

Source: Middle East Monitor