The acting head of Hamas in the West Bank, Zaher Jabarin, confirmed that the movement will not hand over its Israeli prisoners “except with a real deal.”

This came in television statements broadcast by the Hamas movement on its account on the Telegram platform, this evening, Wednesday.

Jabareen said, “The occupied West Bank and Jerusalem are in the heart of Al-Aqsa’s flood,” calling on “the West Bank’s resistance to strike the unjust nests of the occupation in every place and time.”

He added that Hamas had submitted its response to the mediators, adding that it would not hand over “the occupation’s prisoners except through a real deal.”

He continued: "If the occupation wants to know the fate of its prisoners and take the rest of them alive, it must be serious in the negotiations and stay away from (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's tricks and political calculations that disrupt the negotiations."

Last Saturday, Hamas announced that it had submitted its response to the mediators in Egypt and Qatar regarding the ceasefire proposal with Israel.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office considered that Hamas responded "negatively" to the broad outlines presented to it by the mediators.

The movement did not reveal the content of its response, but it renewed its adherence to its demands and the national demands of its people “for a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of the occupation army from the entire Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced to their areas, intensification of the entry of relief and aid, and the start of reconstruction.”

It confirmed its readiness to "conclude a serious and real prisoner exchange deal between the two parties."