Hamas leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef confirmed that the terrorist group and Israel are in the midst of negotiations. Photo: Screenshot.

JNS.org – Sheikh Hassan Yousef, one of Hamas’s leaders in the West Bank, confirmed that Israel and Gaza-ruling Hamas are in the midst of third-party negotiations.

Upon his recent release from Israeli prison, Yousef told Channel 1 journalist Yoram Cohen that Hamas and Israel are trying to work out a deal for a long-term truce.

According to Yousef, the deal being negotiated involves Israel helping Gaza rebuild following last year’s war there and providing a floating port along the Gaza coast, in exchange for Hamas maintaining a state of calm over the long run.

Yousef warned that if Gaza is not rebuilt soon, Hamas violence would resume.