Israel Exchange of 33 Gaza hostages for 1,904 Palestinians
During the ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hamas, a total of 1,904 Palestinians are to be released from Israeli prisons and camps. This was announced by the government in Jerusalem. In return, Hamas must release 33 of a total of 98 Israeli hostages during the six-week ceasefire, which is due to begin on Sunday morning.
18.01.2025, 12:34
SDA
The Palestinians are 1,167 arrested residents of the Gaza Strip who were not involved in the massacre by Hamas and other extremists from the coastal strip on October 7, 2023 in Israel, which left 1,200 dead and more than 250 abducted, the government added. These are likely to be mainly Hamas fighters who were captured during more than 15 months of fighting.
The other 737 Palestinians to be released are prisoners who were imprisoned or convicted for minor offenses such as throwing stones in the West Bank or illegally crossing the border, as well as illegal possession of weapons or other violations of the law. However, these also include prisoners serving time for serious crimes such as murder.
The newspaper "Jerusalem Post" reported that this includes Sacharia Subaidi. He was commander of the military arm of the Fatah movement, the Al-Aqsa Brigades, in Jenin in the northern West Bank during the second Palestinian Intifada uprising from 2000. Between 2000 and 2005, around 3,500 Palestinians were killed and more than 1,000 Israelis died in attacks by Palestinians.
The list of prisoners to be released included Mahmoud Atallah, who is serving a life sentence plus 15 years for the murder of a Palestinian woman accused of collaborating with Israel. Other names include Wael Kassem and Wisam Abbasi, who are alleged to have been involved in bomb attacks in Israel that left dozens dead. The Israeli Ministry of Justice published a list of 22 prisoners accused of serious attacks on Israelis.
However, the most prominent Palestinian prisoner in Israel, Marwan Barghuti from the leadership of the Fatah movement, is not to be released. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2004 for five counts of murder.
