A Palestinian mother kisses the body of her son, Zaid Qaysia, 15, during his funeral at the al-Fawar refugee camp south of the West Bank town of Hebron on May 13, 2020. Israeli forces shot dead the Palestinian teenager during clashes in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Israel. (HAZEM BADER / AFP)

GAZA / RAMALLAH - A senior Hamas official said on Monday that the Israelis who have been held in captivity in the Gaza Strip since 2014 would not be released until "a real prisoners' swap deal" is reached.

"A real prisoners' exchange deal is the best way for the release of the captive Israelis" held by Hamas, Hazem Qassem, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, told Xinhua

"A real prisoners' exchange deal is the best way for the release of the captive Israelis" held by Hamas, Hazem Qassem, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, told Xinhua.

"Otherwise, the Zionist leadership (Israel) will be just selling illusions to the Israeli public," said Qassem, referring to the new Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz's remarks to the families of the Israeli captives.

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Earlier in the day, Gantz met with the families of four Israelis, two soldiers and two civilians, who are believed to have been held by Hamas militants since 2014.

In October 2011, Egypt brokered a prisoners' swap deal between Israel and Hamas, where Israel handed over 1,028 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of the Israeli corporal Gilad Shalit who was abducted in southern Gaza in 2006.

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Fatah stance

Separately, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement on Monday called on the Palestinians to be well-prepared to resist an Israeli plan of annexing parts of the West Bank's territories.

Israel Radio had reported that Israel plans to annex the Jordan Valley and some settlements in the West Bank in July based on a coalition deal reached between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Gantz, his erstwhile political opponent.

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The Central Committee of the leading Fatah Movement, which held a meeting earlier on Monday in Ramallah, said in an emailed press statement that the new Israeli coalition "is adopting destructive policies and positions."

According to the statement, the Palestinian leadership will convene on Tuesday to frame a response.