The Israeli government negotiates a prisoner exchange with Palestinian militias

May 7. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, informed the Council of Ministers this Sunday that he is negotiating with the Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip a possible exchange of prisoners, according to Israeli television Channel 12, citing its own sources.

“Israel is close to reaching an agreement” with Hamas, Netanyahu explained to his ministers, as reported by the newspaper ‘The Times of Israel’.

Netanyahu would also have conveyed his complaints about the “pressure” from the families of Israelis held by the Palestinian militias and from the Israeli military whose bodies Hamas retains. Israeli sources have pointed out that Hamas has shown “flexibility” in the negotiations.

Israel holds nearly 5,000 Palestinian prisoners in its jails. Hundreds of them suffer from diseases and there are also women and children.