Hamas Deputy Chief in Gaza Khalil al-Hayya said that his movement has discussed with Egyptian intelligence chief Major General Abbas Kamel a number of significant topics related to the Palestinian cause.

In a press conference following a meeting with the senior Egyptian security official in Gaza, al-Hayya explained that one of the major issues addressed was pressing the Israeli occupation to halt any aggressive acts against the Palestinians in Gaza and Jerusalem, including the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, and throughout historic Palestine and putting an end to the Israeli settler violence against Palestinian citizens and their properties.

Hamas and Egypt reiterated the necessity for the Israeli occupation to abide by all fair international resolutions calling for establishing an independent Palestinian state and allowing Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and lands, al-Hayya pointed out.

“If this happens, calm may return to the whole region,” al-Hayya continued.

He noted that both sides discussed efforts to completely lift the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip.

Al-Hayya added: “We reaffirmed the necessity to rearrange our Palestinian House immediately, starting with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and agreed on a comprehensive national strategy to stand before the world as one nation and a unified leadership acting in line with an obvious political program and a strategic vision to regain the legitimate rights of our Palestinian people.”

He stressed that his movement had welcomed all efforts to reconstruct the houses, farms, commercial structures, and infrastructure, which were destroyed by the most recent Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Pointing to the close bilateral ties between the Palestinian people and Egypt, Al-Hayya expressed his movement’s appreciation and thanks to Egypt’s role in support of the Palestinian cause.

As for efforts to hammer out a prisoner swap deal with the Israeli occupation, al-Hayya confirmed: “This issue is completely a separate one, and we don’t accept associating it with any other files.”

The senior Hamas official revealed that progress had been made in this regard before the most recent Israeli military offensive on Gaza, but the Israeli occupation was not serious about it.

“We will not accept a prisoner swap be linked to the reconstruction, the siege and the Palestinian rights,” al-Hayya concluded. “I think this is understood by the brothers in Egypt.”