During first phase of hostage deal, half of Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences were released

As part of the hostage release and ceasefire agreement, 274 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences have been freed, with 300 remaining in Israeli jails.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

In the first phase of the current hostage deal, nearly half of the total Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli jails were released.

As part of the hostage release and ceasefire agreement, 274 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences have been freed, with 300 remaining in Israeli jails, according to Kan News.

Israel is currently holding 9,406 individuals classified as terrorists and security detainees. Of these, 1,486 are serving prison sentences, 2,960 are undergoing criminal proceedings but have not yet been convicted, and 3,405 are held as administrative detainees.

According to the Israel Prison Service, 1,555 Gazan terrorists were arrested during the conflict in Gaza.

Additionally, approximately 1,800 Gazans arrested during the war are being held in IDF facilities.

Under the agreement with Hamas, which was approved by the Cabinet, no individuals involved in the massacre of 1,200 people and the abduction of 251 during the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel will be released.

Those who fought against the IDF throughout the 15 months of the Gaza conflict are also excluded.

However, reporter Avishai Grinzaig revealed that among the 1,000 security prisoners slated for release, including all women and those up to age 19 arrested by the IDF in Gaza since October 7, there is a woman known to have held hostages.

Additionally, some individuals who have launched rockets in past conflicts with Israel, participated in digging terror tunnels, or are Hamas members and officials—whom Israel has not yet proven to have been involved in the current war—were also included in the list.

Grinzaig said that a minister had claimed to him that “these details were not clearly presented during the Cabinet meeting” and that they were unaware of them.

Ahmed Barghouti, who masterminded suicide bombing attacks that killed twelve Israelis, walked out of an Israeli prison as part of the hostage-for-prisoners agreement, with more than 1.2 million shekels ($338,000) in his bank account, courtesy of Palestinian Authority stipends that Israelis refer to as “pay for slay.”

Mansour Shreim and Ahmed Abu Khader faced similar sums. Abu Khader, a member of the Palestinian Authority security forces, trained terrorists for suicide missions and carried out shooting attacks. Shreim was responsible for dispatching terrorists who killed nine Israeli teenagers in separate attacks in 2002.

“It’s not about supporting the families of these terrorists – it’s about rewarding them for their actions,” Itamar Marcus, head of Palestinian Media Watch, told The Press Service of Israel. “The Palestinian Authority pays salaries to terrorists while they are in Israeli prisons. The money is deposited into a private account set up for each terrorist as soon as they enter prison.”