Defense Minister to released intifada terrorist: ‘One mistake and you’ll meet your old friends’

Zubeidi, commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and responsible for terror attacks during the Second Intifada, was released on January 30 as part of a hostage-for-prisoners deal.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

On Saturday night, Defense Minister Israel Katz had a message for released terrorist Zakaria Zubeidi: “One mistake and you’ll join your old friends.”

Zubeidi, commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and responsible for terror attacks during the Second Intifada, was released on January 30 as part of a hostage-for-prisoners deal.

After his release, he was seen on Friday walking around Ramallah to cheering crowds, encouraging them to continue terror attacks against Israel.

The Defense Minister wrote a public message to Zubeidi on X: “You were released in a deal to secure the release of Israeli hostages. One mistake, and you’ll join your old friends. We will not accept support for terror.”

The terrorist, who planned the 2002 attack on the Likud office in Beit She’an that killed six people, told the crowd, “It’s time for our Palestinian nation to achieve its freedom and the independent state it wishes for, with Jerusalem as its capital.”

Zubeidi, a member of the Fatah party in Jenin, escaped from prison in September 2021 before being recaptured.

A number of the 735 Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for 33 hostages in the first phase of the agreement have committed deadly crimes, killing hundreds of Israelis.

Majdi Za’tari, from East Jerusalem, was sentenced to 23 life sentences and an additional 50 years in prison. He was convicted of orchestrating a suicide bombing on a bus in Jerusalem in August 2003, which resulted in the deaths of 23 people.

Ahmed Barghouti, commander of the Fatah military wing in the Ramallah area, is serving 13 life sentences. He was convicted of carrying out a series of suicide attacks during the Second Intifada, leading to the deaths of 12 Israelis. Notably, his actions included the attack on the “Seafood Market” restaurant in Tel Aviv, as well as bombings in Neve Ya’akov and Jaffa Street in Jerusalem.

Thabet Mardawi, a high-ranking member of Islamic Jihad, was responsible for the deaths of 21 Israelis and the injuries of nearly 200 during the Second Intifada. He orchestrated a series of deadly attacks, including a suicide bombing at Kibbutz Shluhot, a shooting spree at a market in Hadera, an assault near Camp 80, and a bus bombing at Moza Junction.