Palestinian prisoners who were released in a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas arrive to the town of Beitunia, on January 20, 2025. (Flash90)
Released prisoners dropped off near Ramallah, greeted by cheering crowds waving Hamas, Islamic Jihad flags.
By World Israel News Staff
Terrorists who shot and stabbed Israeli civilians are among the first 90 prisoners released by Israel, in exchange for the return of three Israeli captives kidnapped on October 7th, 2023.
Around 90 people convicted of terror offenses, most of them women, were released from Ofer Prison hours after Hamas handed over Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher to the Red Cross.
The prisoners were bussed from Ofer Prison to the Ramallah area, where most of them reunited with their families and made their way home.
78 of the prisoners are residents of Palestinian Authority-controlled municipalities in Judea and Samaria. 12 prisoners, who are residents of eastern Jerusalem, were later bussed to the city.
Hundreds gathered at the drop-off point near Ramallah, cheering on the released prisoners as they arrived during the early hours of Monday morning.
Many in the crowd waved the flags of terror groups, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Fatah, and Hezbollah.
Hebrew and Arabic-language media reports regarding the gender breakdown of the prisoners were contradictory, with some indicating there were 62 women, while others saying there were 69 women among the 90 inmates who were released.
Numerous prisoners who attempted to murder Israelis were set free in the exchange.
Mahmoud Aliowat, 15, shot two Israelis in the Old City of Jerusalem in 2022. He spent less than three years in prison for the attempted murders.
Ibrahim Zamar, who shot two people in the Sheikh Jarrah (Shimon HaTzadik) neighborhood in April 2023 when he was 15, was freed.
Nawal Abed Fatiha, who holds Israeli citizenship, stabbed a 70=year-old Jerusalem man in 2020. He was freed after less than five years of incarceration.
Khalida Jarrar, 62, a senior member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group, was also freed in the exchange.
She is believed to have masterminded a terror bombing which killed Rina Schnerb, 19, in 2019.
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