Hamas is reportedly demanding the release of high-profile Palestinian terrorists, including those serving multiple life sentences and potentially October 7 participants, as a condition for a hostage deal, with sources indicating a willingness to scuttle the agreement over these terms. This, coupled with demands for a deeper IDF withdrawal and an assured role for the Palestinian Authority in post-conflict Gaza, creates significant hurdles for the US-backed proposal, potentially prolonging regional instability and conflict.
Hamas said to demand release of terror chiefs, Oct. 7 terrorists in deal for hostages Source says terror group to fight for release of life-termers ‘even at the cost of dooming the deal,’ wants deeper initial IDF withdrawal and is working to ensure PA role in ‘day-after’ Gaza Hamas is set to demand the release of some of the most notorious Palestinian terrorists, whom Israel has refused to set free, in talks set to start in Egypt on Monday to finalize the return of all Israeli hostages in the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza. Citing Hamas sources, Channel 12 reported that among the terrorists Hamas is demanding are Marwan Barghouti, the Fatah Tanzim chief serving five life sentences for his part in planning three terror attacks that killed five Israelis during the Second Intifada, and Ahmad Sa’adat, leader of the Marxist-Leninist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), who was sentenced in 2008 to 30 years behind bars for masterminding the 2001 assassination of Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze’evi. Hamas was also demanding the release of Ibrahim Hamed, serving 45 life terms for orchestrating the killings of numerous Israelis as Hamas’s West Bank commander during the Second Intifada, Abbas al-Sayed, who orchestrated the 2002 bombing at the Park Hotel in Netanya in which 39 Israelis were killed, and Hamas’s Hassan Salameh, who is serving 48 life terms for plotting multiple suicide bombings. Channel 12 cited a Hamas source saying the terror group “won’t give up” on securing the release of these and other life-term terrorists, even at the cost of dooming the deal.” There are currently 303 security prisoners serving life sentences in Israel. In a separate, unsourced report, the network said Hamas is also demanding that Israel release terrorists from Hamas’s elite Nukhba force, who took part in the terror group’s October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre — a demand Israel has consistently rejected. Speaking to Channel 12, Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter — a cabinet minister and former Shin Bet chief — appeared to indicate that Israel would be willing to release the convicted terrorists, but raised doubts about freeing those involved in the October 7 invasion. Dichter noted that in the past Israel had freed some of the most notorious terrorists, including Hamas’s founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who was twice released in deals. In 1985, Israel traded him and 1,150 other security prisoners for three captured IDF soldiers. He was later rearrested. In 1997, he was released as part of a deal in exchange for two Mossad officers captured in Jordan while trying to kill Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal. “I twice brought him to jail and once to the end of his life,” said Dichter, who was Shin Bet chief when Yassin was assassinated in an IAF helicopter strike in 2004. Dichter said that while there was precedent for releasing convicted terrorists, those who participated in the October 7 massacre had not yet been tried for their crimes. “It’s a different story,” he said. According to the Hamas sources cited by Channel 12, the terror group also wants guarantees that there will ultimately be a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza, with a timetable; and that the IDF’s initial withdrawal be larger than the one shown in a map issued by Trump on Sunday. Hamas was said to be demanding a withdrawal to the lines where the IDF was deployed in January during the last ceasefire. Palestinian sources close to the negotiations were cited by the Kan public broadcaster saying that Hamas’s top priority was the depth and timeline of the IDF withdrawal, while long-term issues such as the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip were on the back burner for the terror group. Channel 12 further reported that the Hamas negotiating team under Khalil al-Hayya will hold simultaneous talks with a Palestinian Authority team, as it seeks to ensure that the initial mechanism for “day-after” Gaza includes the PA. The report noted a statement by PA President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday promising PA reforms, including the formulation of a temporary constitution within three months and elections within a year. According to Channel 12, Abbas would permit Hamas to contest those elections only if it accepts Israel’s right to exist. Under Trump’s plan, the PA — which Israel accuses of incitement to terrorism in its schools and through payments to terrorists — would take control of Gaza only after it “has completed its reform program.” Until then, the plan stipulates that the Strip will be governed by an international transitional “Board of Peace” led by Trump. The US president announced his plan on Monday in a joint press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who endorsed the proposal. Trump accepted Hamas’s response on Friday, which said the terror group agreed to the hostage-prisoner exchange formula set out in the plan and was willing to immediately hash out the details with mediators. The formula would see Hamas release the remaining 48 hostages within 72 hours, in exchange for 250 life-term Palestinian prisoners; 1,700 Gazans detained since the October 7 massacre, which sparked the Gaza war; and the remains of 15 slain Gazans in exchange for each deceased hostage, of whom there are at least 26, according to the IDF. Hamas’s response said the release of the hostages would be subject to “field conditions,” and has indicated that returning the buried, slain hostages within 72 hours could be difficult due to IDF presence. The Times of Israel Community. Negotiations for a hostage-for-prisoner exchange face significant headwinds, casting uncertainty on the US-backed plan to de-escalate the Gaza conflict. Hamas is reportedly issuing maximalist demands, including the release of high-profile terrorists serving multiple life sentences and, critically, members of its Nukhba force who participated in the October 7th massacre—a condition Israel has consistently rejected. A Hamas source cited by Channel 12 underscored the terror group's intransigence, stating it would pursue these releases 'even at the cost of dooming the deal.' While an Israeli cabinet minister indicated potential flexibility on releasing long-convicted terrorists, citing historical precedent, he drew a clear line against freeing untried October 7th perpetrators. Beyond the prisoner exchange, Hamas is also demanding a deeper and more rapid IDF withdrawal than initially proposed and a guaranteed role for the Palestinian Authority in post-war governance. The combination of these hardline positions creates a high probability of stalled negotiations, which aligns with the provided 'moderately negative' sentiment and 'uncertain' tone, suggesting a prolonged period of regional instability and heightened geopolitical risk for markets.
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moderately negative
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-0.50
