Who Israel would swap for the hostages
Israel wants to exchange 150 Palestinian prisoners for the release of 50 hostages from the clutches of Hamas. The Ministry of Justice has now published a list of possible candidates. Most of them are minors.
50 women and children kidnapped by Hamas are to be exchanged as part of the first phase of an agreement with Hamas, the Israeli cabinet has decided. In return, 150 Palestinian prisoners are to be released from prisons in Israel. The Ministry of Justice in Jerusalem published a list of almost 300 prisoners who are eligible for a deal. The exchange is to take place in stages over four days.
Israeli media report that no one convicted of murder will be released. However, people who are in prison for attempted murder or terrorist activities could be released, according to the list. Other offenses include attacks on police officers, illegal gatherings, throwing stones or firebombs and possession of firearms and explosives.
The candidates are said to belong to Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, reports the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz". However, many are said to have acted on their own initiative. A large number of the people were arrested but never brought to trial. The prisoners listed include many residents of East Jerusalem.
Most of them are under 18
287 of the 300 people are minors, five of them only 14 years old. Many had "caused unrest" in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, for example by throwing stones at soldiers. Several women are also on the list. According to Haaretz, one of them is the Palestinian Misoun Mussa. She attacked an Israeli soldier in Jerusalem with a knife in 2015 and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Marah Bakeer could also be exchanged. She is serving an eight-year prison sentence after a knife attack on an Israeli border policeman in 2016. The oldest woman on the list is 59 years old and imprisoned for "security offenses". An 18-year-old prisoner named Ahmed Muhammad Ahmed Marzouk was arrested in July 2023 - for attacking police, arson and possession of weapons.
Exchange of all 300 people possible
The list is twice as long as the number of prisoners earmarked for the first exchange. The Israeli cabinet decision states that up to 300 prisoners could be exchanged for 100 living hostages in the future. Relatives of terror victims have a total of 24 hours to object to the plan. However, it is unlikely that the Supreme Court will overturn the exchange.
According to a report in the New York Times, the number of young Palestinians imprisoned in Israel has risen significantly since the massacres on October 7. According to the report, there are currently around 200 boys in Israeli prisons, most of them in their teens, citing the Palestinian non-governmental organization Addameer. There are also 75 women and five girls in prison. Before October 7, there were 150 boys and 30 women and girls, according to Addameer.
The group claims to be relying on data from the Israeli prison service and information from families. A total of 7,000 Palestinians are in Israeli prisons, compared to around 5,000 before October 7. 2000 people are being held in "administrative detention", which means indefinite detention without charge.
The Israeli cabinet has agreed to release 150 Palestinian prisoners as part of an exchange for the release of 50 hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Many of the prisoners listed for potential release are minors, with some as young as 14, who were accused of causing unrest in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The exchange of all 300 prisoners listed is a possibility according to future agreements, with the number of young Palestinians in Israeli prisons significantly increasing since the massacres on October 7.
Source: www.ntv.de
