By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Israel announces the release of 735 Palestinian prisoners as part of a landmark ceasefire exchange agreement.

The Israeli Ministry of Justice announced on Saturday that 735 Palestinian prisoners will be released in exchange for the first batch of Israeli detainees as part of the initial phase of the prisoner exchange agreement and ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority (KAN) revealed that Israel might be compelled to release five significant Palestinian figures.

Among those to be released is Zakaria Zubeidi, the former commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah). 

The ministry published the names of 95 Palestinian prisoners who will be released tomorrow, Sunday, as part of the first phase of the deal.

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According to the Akka website for Israeli affairs, quoting Channel 12, the following individuals will also be released in the first phase:

– Ashraf Zughayer, a Hamas leader accused of aiding the attack on Line 4 on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv in September 2002, which resulted in six Israeli deaths and 84 injuries.

– Ahmed Barghouti, the former commander of Fatah’s military wing in the Ramallah area, sentenced to 13 life sentences for killing 12 Israelis in 2016.

– Iyad Jaradat, from the Islamic Jihad Movement, one of the prisoners who escaped from Gilboa Prison in 2021.

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Other notable Palestinian prisoners to be released include:

– Bilal Abu Ghanem, who carried out a shooting operation in Jerusalem in 2015, killing three Israelis and injuring 15.

– Ashraf Abu Srour, a Palestinian Authority soldier who killed an Israeli soldier at Rachel’s Tomb in 2002.

– Wael Qassem and Wissam Abbasi, leaders of the Hamas-affiliated Silwan cell.

– Akram Hamed, a prominent leader of the Al-Aqsa Brigades, accused of a series of shooting operations between 2002 and 2004.

– Thabet Mardawi, a leader of the Islamic Jihad movement.

– Muhammad Kharboush, a leader of the Qassam Brigades in Tulkarm.

The total number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in the first phase of the deal is 1,904, including 1,167 Gaza residents arrested during the war who did not participate in the October 7, 2023 attacks.

Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Israeli estimates indicate that 25 of the 33 detainees in Gaza scheduled to be released in the first phase are alive.

Qadura Fares, head of the Palestinian Authority for Prisoners and Freed Prisoners Affairs, confirmed that 296 of these prisoners have long sentences. 

The number of prisoners to be released is linked to the conditions of the Israeli prisoners held in Gaza. The Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas has not disclosed these details due to the massive destruction in the Strip.

Fares stated that the Israeli occupation is determined to deport some prisoners, leading to the postponement of the release of certain leaders in the first phase. 

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Thaer Shreiteh, spokesman for the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Authority, pointed out errors in the list, including previously released female prisoners and missing data on 10 prisoners. Shreiteh called on mediators in Qatar and Egypt to address these Israeli violations.

Israeli media reported that the names of three female prisoners held in Gaza, who will be released in the first batch tomorrow, will be received at 4 pm today, Jerusalem time. The list of Israeli prisoners held in Gaza includes 33 female and male prisoners.

KAN reported that five important Palestinian figures would not be released in the first stage of the agreement.

 These include Abbas al-Sayed, Ibrahim Hamed, Abdullah Barghouti, Hassan Salameh, and Marwan Barghouti. Sources indicate that Hamas will demand their inclusion in the second and third stages of the deal.

The agreement consists of three stages, each lasting 42 days.

The first stage includes the release of 33 Israeli prisoners held in Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The second phase involves the return of sustainable calm, more prisoner exchanges, and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The third phase focuses on the reconstruction of the Strip, the exchange of bodies and remains, and the opening of all crossings for the movement of people and goods.

(PC, AJA)