Israel will release 183 security prisoners, including several senior terrorist officials, on Saturday in exchange for hostages Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben Ami as part of the fifth wave of the ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas.
Eighteen of these prisoners were supposed to be serving life sentences.
Iyad Abu-Shkheidem
Among the terror officials to be released include Iyad Abu-Shkheidem, a Hamas operative who orchestrated a double suicide bombing in 2004 in Beersheba that killed 16 Israelis and wounded over 100.
He was also accused of preparing an explosive belt for a terrorist who was arrested in July 2004 while on his way to carry out a suicide bombing at a café in Jerusalem.
Hatem al-Jayusi
Hatem al-Jayusi, who was one of the founders of Fatah’s military wing Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, will also be released.
Jayusi was sentenced to six life sentences for the murder of six Israelis during the Second Intifada.
Ahmad Atiya Ibrahim al-Ja’afrah
Another Fatah operative who will be released is Ahmad Atiya Ibrahim al-Ja’afrah, who was initially sentenced to life imprisonment and will be deported upon his release.
Falah Ratib Shahadeh
Falah Ratib Shahadeh, a third Fatah operative, was arrested in 2004 and sentenced to 27 years for recruiting terror cells, carrying out shooting attacks, and planting explosive devices. He will also be deported upon release.
Shadi Barghouti
Another terrorist who will be released is Shadi Barghouti, who was also sentenced to 27 years in prison for involvement in terror attacks. He planned a terror attack alongside his father, Fakhri, that killed Mordechai Yakoel, a bus driver, in 1978.
Yousef al-Mabhouh
The list of prisoners to be released also includes Yousef al-Mabhouh from Jabalya in northern Gaza, who was sentenced to 15 years in 2006 for launching rockets, planting explosives, and working in Hamas tunnels.
In December 2021, Mabhouh stabbed a prison guard in Ramon Prison, for which he received an additional eight years on top of his initial 15-year sentence. The guard was lightly wounded.
Jamal Tawil
Jamal Tawil, who will also be released, is a senior Hamas leader in the West Bank who was involved in organizing riots, inciting violence, and reestablishing Hamas’s influence in Ramallah.
Tawil was arrested in June 2021 in a joint operation by the IDF’s Duvdevan Unit and the Shin Bet in the Palestinian city.
Ali Haroub
Also among those being released is Ali Haroub, who was sentenced to a lengthy prison term after being thwarted by the Shin Bet and the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) while planning a kidnapping with help from security prisoners in Israeli jails.
IPS procedures with the Palestinian prisoners
Once all procedures have been conducted within the prisons, Israeli troops from the Nachshon Unit, the IPS’s main prisoner transport division, will transfer the terrorists to Ofer Prison and Ketziot Prison, the prison service said.
Red Cross representatives will then identify the prisoners and will remain there until the Israeli hostages arrive in Israel.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.
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