Hamas: Mideast prisoner swap in jeopardy

JERUSALEM, April 11 (UPI) -- A proposed prisoner exchange deal involving an Israel Defense Forces soldier is in danger of falling apart due to Israel's newest terms, Hamas said Wednesday.

Palestinian cabinet spokesman Ghazi Hamad told the Haaretz newspaper that with Israel demanding that Hamas militants with "blood on their hands" be excluded from the deal, the proposed prisoner exchange ultimately may not occur.

"The Palestinians will not revise the list based on Israeli criteria," he said of the deal involving IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped on June 25, 2006.

"If there are issues that (need) more negotiations, then things are not over yet," he added.

Israel remains steadfast that the Islamist group's list of prisoners not include convicted senior terrorists.

Meanwhile, the Palestine News Agency WAFA said that Palestinian prisoners on Wednesday began a hunger strike in Israel.

The prisoners reportedly stopped eating to support isolated prisoners in Israeli jails that they charge have suffered mistreatment while in custody.