Zvi Yehezkeli, senior Arab affairs expert at i24NEWS and one of Israel's most respected authorities on Palestinian militant groups, claims that Hamas is skillfully manipulating ceasefire negotiations to protect its grip on Gaza, while successfully distracting international attention with debates over prisoner exchanges and humanitarian concerns.
He says that Hamas has outmaneuvered both Israel and the United States by shifting focus to prisoner release numbers rather than the fundamental question of Gaza's future governance.
"The intense media coverage of prisoner exchanges is exactly what Hamas wants," Yehezkeli said in a recent analysis. "They couldn't care less whether 200 or 300 prisoners are released to Judea and Samaria. Their singular focus has always been maintaining control of Gaza, just as it has been since they seized power in 2007."
The analyst suggests Hamas has already achieved a significant strategic victory by surviving Israel's military response to the October 7 attacks. Current negotiations involve the potential release of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for up to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
"Hamas isn't primarily interested in prisoner releases - they're playing a longer game," Yehezkeli explained. "Their main objective is preventing Israel from establishing any meaningful control in Gaza, and so far, they've succeeded in maintaining this narrative."
According to Yehezkeli, the real challenge isn't negotiating prisoner numbers but addressing the fundamental power structure in Gaza after any potential deal. "From Hamas's perspective, they're positioning themselves to continue running Gaza. This means Israel has failed to achieve its stated war objectives or alter the regional dynamics," he concluded.
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