According to reports in Israeli media, a Palestinian prisoner's committee has made a plea to Iraq to negotiate a potential exchange deal with Israel involving the release of Israeli researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov. The association proposes swapping Tsurkov, who was abducted in Iraq in March, with 5,000 Palestinian prisoners currently held in Israel.
In response to this call, the "Prisoners' Committee of the National and Islamic Forces in Gaza" took part in a protest in front of the Red Cross headquarters in Gaza, as reported by the Palestinian Al-Quds newspaper.
Zaki Dababish, the spokesperson of the committee, told Al-Quds "our fellow compatriots in Iraq have apprehended Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli individual associated with acts of terrorism from the occupying nation, responsible for causing immense destruction in Palestine, Iraq, and various other regions."
Dababish further stated that the prisoners in question “gave their life and freedom for Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem, in support of Islam and the Muslim nation, and they are the first line of defense in the face of the Zionist criminal machine.”
Tsurkov, a 36-year-old dual Israeli and Russian national, was kidnapped by members of a militia linked to Iran while conducting research for her Ph.D. in Baghdad. A recent report suggests that the Iraqi militia initially attempted to transport her to Iran.
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