Former Israeli Arab MK Akram Hasson revealed that Hamas in Gaza secretly asked for more than 400 diplomatic passports from Turkey several weeks ago to travel to Turkey.

He said in an interview with Alhurra TV that the solution to achieving peace in the region is to “keep Hamas away” from Gaza, because the Strip will not be rebuilt while Hamas is present.

This is not the first time the issue of passports has come up, as similar reports emerged last December.

Information indicated that Hamas, in a meeting with the Palestinian National Authority in Cairo, requested that the Authority pay the workers’ salaries and issue 400 diplomatic passports to facilitate their movement.

Hamas released three Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip for 16 months on Saturday.

Hasson criticized the revelations of Hamas’ hostage-handover ceremonies, stressing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements on Saturday represented the feelings of all Israelis.

Netanyahu renewed his pledge to “eliminate” Hamas and return the hostages held in Gaza to Israel.

He believes that “Hamas’ military parades will harm them themselves,” and warned that the shameful hostage-handover ceremonies “will negatively affect the continuation of the exchange deal.”

The three hostages, Or Levi, 34, Eli Sharabi, 52, and Ohad Ben Ami, a German-Israeli, 56, were loaded into vans and led to a stage by Hamas fighters during a ceremony organized by the movement in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

Israel condemned the “difficult scene” that followed the hostages’ release. Netanyahu condemned the “horrifying images” that “will not go unanswered.”

Hasson said that the cause of the current destruction in Gaza is Hamas, as 70 percent of the buildings and infrastructure in the Strip have been destroyed.

He stressed that Netanyahu is hesitant about continuing with the second phase of this deal, because with Hamas, as a terrorist organization, agreements cannot be made.