The Hamas government led by Ismail Haniyeh is interested in speeding up the prisoner swap deal for the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit ,Haniyeh's diplomatic advisor said Monday.
In interviews with Palestinian news agencies, Dr Ahmed Yusef called on the Israeli government to make a goodwill gesture "as the Hamas movement did when it released an audio tape of Shalit in order to calm his family down."
As part of the gesture, Yusef said, Israel should release female Palestinian prisoners and prisoners under the age of 18.
"Unfortunately, they had no appreciation for Hamas' move and did not make any goodwill gesture," Haniyeh's advisor said. "If Israel wants to speed up the issue, Hamas will respond with a positive move. They must take such a move in order to prove that they are serious in their intentions toward a hostage exchange."
Should Israel release this group of prisoners, he added, his movement would consider "releasing a Shalit video".
Yusef said that "Hamas will only take this move if Israel releases those prisoners. The video released by Hamas will include information on the condition of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit."
According to the Hamas advisor, his movement has done everything required so far in order to complete the deal, by preparing the list of prisoners it wants to see released as well as the timetable for their release.
He added that in addition to Egypt, a number of European officials were also acting as mediators between Hamas and Israel.