Prominent Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi is on the list of 30 Palestinian prisoners, all women or minors, who were slated to be released from Israeli jails Wednesday as part of a deal for the Hamas terror group to set free 10 more Israelis from among those it is holding captive in the Gaza Strip.
The Wafa news agency cited the Palestinian Prisoners Commission as saying that 15 women and 15 teenage boys were to be released from Israeli prisons.
All of those to be released, with the exception of one, were arrested after October 7, when Hamas carried out a devastating attack on Israel that killed over 1,200 people. The terrorists also abducted at least 240 people who were taken hostage in Gaza. Israel responded with a military campaign to crush Hamas and remove it from power in the Strip.
A temporary truce in the war began last week and was extended on Monday. Under the terms of the deal, Hamas releases 10 women and children it is holding hostage every day and Israel lets 30 Palestinian prisoners out of jail.
Seven of the Palestinians to be released are Arab Israeli women, the Ynet outlet reported, citing a list published by Hamas
Tamimi, a 22-year-old West Bank Palestinian, was arrested some three weeks ago after posting on social media that Palestinians will “slaughter” settlers and “drink your blood.”
“Our message to the herds of settlers is that we are waiting for you in all the West Bank cities, from Hebron to Jenin,” Tamimi wrote then. “We will slaughter you and you will say that what Hitler did to you was a joke, we will drink your blood and eat your skulls. Come on, we’re waiting for you.”
Tamimi became an icon of the Palestinian cause at age 16 after she was jailed for slapping an Israeli soldier. She served an eight-month sentence in an Israeli prison, and after her release went on a victory tour, crisscrossing Europe and the Middle East.
Also said to be on the list for release Wednesday is Suhir Ismail Musa Barghouti, 64, a Hamas member from the West Bank who has been held since October 26 on unspecified suspicions. She is the oldest woman from among the hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners who could be released in exchange for hostages.
Her two sons, Asem and Salih Barghout, carried out a December 2018 shooting attack at the Ofir Junction in the West Bank, critically injuring Shira Ish-Ran and moderately injuring her husband Amichai. As a result of the attack, Ish-Ran, who was heavily pregnant at the time, lost her baby son.
Salih was killed by the IDF a week after the attack and Asem was arrested a month later.
At least one of the Arab Israeli women who were added to the list of prisoners who may be released strongly objected and said that neither she nor her family nor her attorney were informed that she was being put on the list.
The woman, who does not wish to be identified in media, has been indicted for expressing support and identifying with a terror organization, following comments she made on social media following October 7, but has yet to be tried and denies her comments violated the anti-terrorism laws leveled against her.
“Due to the opposition of my client to being included on the list, and due to the heavy concern of severe harm to her as a result of being released under such circumstances when she is still entitled to the presumption of innocence, I request that you clarify what the legal significance is of my client being included in this decision and what the implications are on the legal process that is pending against her,” an attorney from the Adalah legal aid organization wrote in a letter to State Attorney Amit Aisman and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
So far, Hamas has released a total of 61 Israeli hostages and 20 foreign hostages during the five days of the temporary truce. Ten more were expected to be released Wednesday. The original deal stipulated that the pause in fighting could be extended up to a total of 10 days — if Hamas releases at least 10 additional hostages each day, with Israel freeing more Palestinian inmates at a ratio of three prisoners for each hostage.
Israel has freed 180 female and underage Palestinians serving time in Israeli prisons for security offenses and was expected to release 30 more on Wednesday, including Tamimi.
The government on Monday approved the names of 50 additional female prisoners who could be considered for release if Hamas freed 20 more Israeli hostages in the following days.
Many of the prisoners are affiliated with Hamas, Fatah, or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but some have no known affiliations with any terror groups.
The new list brings to 350 the number of Palestinian prisoners selected for possible early release as part of the agreement.