Hamas members. Photo: Truth Revolt.

JNS.org – Hamas is demanding Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners as a condition for giving the Jewish state information about two Israelis who went missing in Gaza after crossing the border fence last September.

According to Arab media reports, Hamas will not budge on revealing information about Ethiopian-Israeli man Avera Mengistu or a second missing Israeli whose identity remains under a gag order, nor will the terrorist group enter negotiations on returning the remains of killed Israeli soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, if Israel does not free Palestinian terrorist prisoners.

The Palestinian prisoners in question were released as part of the 2011 exchange that secured the freedom of Hamas captive Gilad Shalit, but were later re-arrested by Israeli security forces.Al Arabiya reported that in a speech marking the Eid al-Fitr holiday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the group “will not speak with or give [Israel] a scrap of information before our people in Israeli prisons are released.”