Israel Frees 110 Palestinian Terrorists
Israel freed 110 Palestinian prisoners on Thursday in exchange for three Israeli hostages held by the Hamas terrorist group and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. All 110 prisoners were jailed for offenses related to terrorism.
The prisoners were all men, ranging from age 15 to 69: 48 were given extensive jail sentences; at least 30 were serving life sentences. The released terrorists include:
- Zakaria Zubeidi, a prominent former militant commander responsible for carrying out several terrorist attacks and killings during the Second Intifada. He was jailed for several offenses, including murder, attempted murder, membership of a terrorist organization, planting an explosive device, weapons offenses, discharging a firearm at people, service to an illegal organization, offenses against current sentencing, conspiracy to commit crime, conspiracy to murder, and failure to pay fines. He escaped from an Israeli jail in 2021 but was quickly recaptured. Zubeidi is considered a “hero” among Palestinians.
- Mohammed Abu Warda, a Hamas militant during the Second Intifada who was serving 48 life sentences for carrying out multiple terrorist attacks, including a 1996 bombing of a bus in Jerusalem that killed 45 people
- Sami Jaradat, responsible for a 2003 bombing at a restaurant in Haifa that killed 21 people
- Amar Mardi, a member of Fatah who kidnapped and killed 18-year-old Yuri Goshchinin in a slaughterhouse near Ramallah in 2001. Mardi was supposed to be released to Gaza on Saturday, but fearing retribution from Hamas, he refused release and requested to instead be sent to Jordan.
- Rashid Rashak, who plotted to assassinate former Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir in 2022. Rashak also organized multiple Hamas clashes on the Temple Mount and was involved in a stabbing attack when he was 15.
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.
—Itamar Ben Gvir
The released prisoners were met by thousands of celebrating Palestinians as they returned to the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza or were exiled to Egypt.
In return, Israel received back hostages Agam Berger (20), Arbel Yehu (29) and Gadi Moses (80). In a separate deal with Thailand, Hamas also released five Thai nationals.
This brings the total of hostages released by Hamas to 15 and the total of prisoners released by Israel to 400.
Regret: This hostage-for-prisoners deal has been devastating for Israel. To get its people back, Israel is being forced to release terrorists back into society.
It is a deal Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and United States President Donald Trump, who pressured Israel into signing the deal, will regret making.
Learn more: Read “President Trump Betrayed Israel.”