Hamas presses Israel to release prominent prisoners as part of the gas deal

Hamas presses Israel to include prominent Palestinians in a prison release list – part of a fire termination transaction that will also see hostages returned by Gaza.

Hamas’s insistence comes after the Israeli Ministry of Justice publishes the names of 250 prisoners who will be released, but excluded seven prisoners, including Marvan Barguti and Ahmad Saatat.

Men who serve sentences after being convicted of participating in individual deadly attacks in Israel have long been viewed by the Palestinians as symbols of resistance.

Twenty Israeli hostages are expected to be released before 12:00 (09:00 GMT) on Monday as part of the deal proposed by US President Donald Trump.

A senior Palestinian employee familiar with the negotiations told the BBC that US envoy Steve Vikof had promised to raise the exclusion of Palestinian prisoners with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but Israel firmly refused to turn them on.

It is unclear whether this can be a sticking point or affect the time line for the release of hostages from the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.

The publications must be held in the first phase of the Trump fire termination transaction and the hostages of Trump approved this week to end the two -year Gaza War.

It is unclear how the hostages will be released this time – in previous cases, Hamas flawed them in a public place, infuriating Israel and many of their Western allies.

The bodies of the deceased hostages will also be returned. It is believed that at least 26 hostages have died, with the fate of two others being unknown.

Israel will also release about 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli prisons, and another 1700 Gaza Palestinians who have been detained.

Hamas had presented a list of prisoners he wanted released, which included Barghouti and Saadat.

Barghouti serves five life sentences plus 40 years after he was convicted in 2004 for planning attacks that led to the murder of five civilians.

Public opinion polls consistently indicate that he remains the most popular Palestinian leader and that the Palestinians will vote for him in the presidential election before the current Palestinian President (PA) Mahmoud Abbas or Hamas leaders.

Barghouti remains a highest figure in the Fatah fraction, which dominates the BCP, which operates parts of the occupied West Bank, not under Israeli control.

Saadat, the leader of the popular Palestine Liberation Front (PFLP), was sentenced to 30 years after he was sentenced to the head of an “illegal terrorist organization” in 2008 and participation in attacks, including the murder of Israeli minister in 2001.

Among the 250 prisoners to be released is Iad Abu Al Rub, an Islamic jihad commander, convicted of organizing suicide attacks in Israel, which killed 13 people in the early 2000s.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Justice, it will be released either in gas or deported abroad.

The BBC understands that Hamas also insists on some possible additional release from prisoners. They refer to the Palestinian prisoners, who were released years ago as part of an exchange of hostages Gilad Shalit – and were then repeated after October 7.

Hamas claims that since they were part of a previous hostage exchange, they should not be included in the figure 250.

The first phase of the deal for Israel-Hamas appeared on Friday and the Israeli forces partially withdraw from parts of Gaza. Hundreds of trucks per day are now expected to enter. The next phases are still negotiated.

Israel’s war against Gaza was triggered by attacks by Hamas against southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages taken.

Since then, 67,682 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, says Hamas Health Ministry.