Jerusalem delayed on Thursday the release of terrorists whose sentences were to be commuted under the ceasefire deal with Hamas, after “horrifying scenes” were witnessed during the release of Israeli hostages Arbel Yehud and Gadi Mozes on Thursday.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with Defense Minister Israel Katz, has instructed a delay in the release of the terrorists scheduled to be released today until the safe exit of our hostages during the next waves is guaranteed,” the Prime Minister’s Office’s statement continued.
Jerusalem “demands that the mediators work to achieve this,” the PMO added, referring to Qatar and Egypt, who helped negotiate the deal.
A security source told Israel’s Ynet outlet that the political echelon gave the order to halt the 110 prisoners’ release minutes after they had left Ofer Prison near Ramallah, forcing the bus convoy to turn around.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism Party) hailed Netanyahu’s decision, calling on the premier to “prevent the release of terrorists from Israeli prisons at least until guarantees are received that the harsh and humiliating images from Gaza and the abuse of our hostages right before their return doesn’t happen again.”
Earlier, Netanyahu’s office said that Israel had appealed to Doha and Cairo following the “horrific scenes” of civilian hostages Yehud and Mozes being publicly taunted by their captors and a mob of thousands of Palestinians as they were transferred to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip.
“This is further proof of the unimaginable cruelty of the Hamas terrorist organization,” Netanyahu’s office stated, demanding that Doha and Cairo work to “guarantee the safety of our hostages.”
Following Netanyahu’s demand, the mediators late Thursday afternoon committed to providing safe passage out of Gaza for the hostages set to be freed in the coming days and weeks.
“Israel insists that lessons will be learned and that in the next rounds, there will be extra care in ensuring the safe return of our hostages,” according to a PMO statement.
Among the terrorists scheduled to be released on Thursday were Zakaria Zubeidi, Mohammad Abu Warda and Sami Jaradat, according to Israel’s Channel 12 News broadcaster.
Zubeidi led Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the Samaria city of Jenin and briefly escaped from Israel’s high-security Gilboa Prison in 2021.
Since Zubeidi was not convicted of murder but of other terrorism offenses, he will not be deported and is expected to be released back to Samaria.
Abu Warda and Jaradat were responsible for terrorist attacks that combined killed 66 Israelis in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Both men are scheduled to be deported and banned from returning to Israeli territory.
