Zakaria Zubeidi among terrorists to get heroes’ welcome as Israel frees 110 prisoners
Hundreds in Ramallah greet Zubeidi, who organized dozens of attacks during the Second Intifada; 66 prisoners sent to West Bank, 14 to East Jerusalem, 9 to Gaza and 21 exiled
Israel freed 110 Palestinian security prisoners on Thursday, the Israel Prison Service said, hours after the Hamas terror group released three Israeli hostages under the ongoing hostage-ceasefire deal.
All 110 were held for offenses related to terror, while 32 were serving life sentences for murderous attacks. Sixty-six were released to the West Bank, 14 to East Jerusalem, nine to Gaza and 21 were exiled abroad via Egypt.
The prisoners were released as part of the hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and the Hamas terror group that went into effect earlier this month. Their release came after Hamas and its ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad released Agam Berger, 20 Arbel Yehoud, 29, and Gadi Mozes, 80, all of whom were abducted during the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Inmates being sent to the West Bank and East Jerusalem were released from Ofer Prison near Ramallah, the IPS said, while other prisoners were freed from Ktzi’ot Prison in southern Israel and brought to the Kerem Shalom Crossing into Gaza, near the Egyptian border.
“Prison Service troops are acting to release terrorists in line with the diplomatic deal for the return of the hostages, in full coordination with all security services,” the IPS said in a statement.
Scuffles erupted as a convoy of buses carrying prisoners departed around dusk from Ofer Prison in the West Bank. Palestinian teens threw stones outside the complex and Israeli forces fired tear gas as they tried to clear the area.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said three Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire in the confrontations. It said Israeli forces used gunfire and stun grenades to disperse the crowds.
The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that troops were operating in the West Bank to prevent parades for the prisoners. Troops carried out “preemptive arrests” and dropped leaflets calling on Palestinians not to participate in celebrations, the army said.
Soldiers also seized flags of terror groups and other objects that would have been used in such parades, the IDF added.
In Ramallah, hundreds of Palestinians gathered outside a community center to await some 30 released prisoners. The jubilant crowds, whose gathering was organized by the Ramallah and al-Bireh municipalities, waved Palestinian flags, as well as symbols of Fatah and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Women in traditional full Palestinian dresses ululated, while men chanted “We sacrifice our souls and blood for you,” Reuters reported.
“Today is a historic day for the Palestinian people,” an elderly man sporting a keffiyeh said to cheers.
Terrorists released
Many attendees held signs with the names and faces of the prisoners to be freed, most prominent among them Zakaria Zubeidi, who organized dozens of attacks during the Second Intifada while heading the al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigades in Jenin.
In 2021, he and five other prisoners tunneled out of a maximum-security prison in northern Israel, an escape that helped solidify Zubeidi’s image among Palestinians as a folk hero. All six were recaptured days later.
Also among those released — though not to the West Bank — was Hamas operative Mohammed Abu Warda, who was serving 48 life sentences for masterminding multiple terror attacks, including a 1996 bombing on a bus in Jerusalem that killed 45 people.
Another was Sami Jaradat, who was responsible for a 2003 bombing at a restaurant in Haifa that killed 21 people.
Both Abu Warda and Jaradat were expected to be sent to the Gaza Strip or to Egypt.
Among those sent to the West Bank was Amar Mardi, a Jordanian member of Fatah who was involved in the 2001 killing of Yuri Gushchin, 18, near Ramallah.
Mardi was supposed to be released last Saturday, but had refused upon learning that he would be sent to Gaza, apparently fearing for his life there.
A would-be Ben Gvir assassin
Another person released was Rashid Rashak, whose plot to assassinate former national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir was foiled by security forces in 2022.
Rashak, then 23 and a resident of the Old City of Jerusalem, was also accused of establishing a network of Hamas supporters who led clashes on the Temple Mount.
He had already served a prison sentence in 2014-2016, after being convicted of involvement in a stabbing attack when he was 15.
Ben Gvir, who left the government over his opposition to the hostage-ceasefire deal, responded on Thursday to the news that his would-be killer had been let go.
“The release of terrorist Rashid Rashak, who planned to assassinate me and carry out other attacks, to the Old City of Jerusalem,” is a “testament to the moral bankruptcy of surrender, and a reckless deal,” he said.
Channel 12 reported that many of the prisoners freed were affiliated with Fatah, the faction that controls the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority. The network noted that the release comes at a time when Hamas is apparently seeking to build legitimacy with the Palestinian public for its October 7 invasion and slaughter.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club said that 30 of the released prisoners were minors.
The prisoners were released hours after the terror group released abducted Israelis Berger, Yehoud and Mozes, as well as hostage Thai citizens Pongsak Thenna, Sathian Suwannakham, Watchara Sriaoun, Bannawat Seathao, and Surasak Lamnau. The five had worked in agriculture in Israel and were also abducted during the Oct. 7 attack.
The Thai men were freed outside the framework of the deal with Israel, and no prisoners were handed over in return for their freedom.
Thursday’s release of the Palestinian security prisoners was delayed after hostages Arbel Yehoud and Gadi Mozes were made to walk through an unruly mob as they were handed over to the Red Cross in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis. In response to the chaotic scenes, Israel said it would not free the prisoners “until the safe passage of our hostages can be guaranteed in the next releases.”
About an hour later, Israel said it had received a guarantee from mediators that the scenes would not be repeated in future releases.
“Following Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu’s demand, the mediators made a commitment that our hostages will be guaranteed safe passageway in the next releases,” read a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Hostage-ceasefire deal
Thursday’s exchange was part of the first phase of the ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas that took effect on January 19, under which 50 Palestinian prisoners are released for every soldier and 30 for each civilian.
Israel freed 90 prisoners in return for three civilian hostages early last week, followed by 200 additional inmates — including 121 serving life sentences for terrorism — in exchange for four female soldiers on Saturday.
During the 42-day period, 33 Israeli captives held in Gaza are expected to be released in return for 1,904 Palestinian security prisoners, including 737 serving life terms. The other 1,167 are Palestinians detained during the IDF’s ground offensive who did not participate in the Hamas-led October 7 massacre that started the Gaza war. Ten of the 33 have been freed to date. Eight of the remaining 23 are believed by Israel to be dead.
Talks have yet to begin on the deal’s potential second stage, in which Hamas is expected to release young, relatively healthy male hostages, including soldiers, for whom the terrorist organization is likely to demand Israel pay a heavier price.
Hamas has promised the families of prominent terror convicts Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Saadat that they will be released from Israeli prison in the second stage of the deal, Kan reported Tuesday, citing an unnamed Palestinian source involved in the negotiations.
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