Mass murderers among those set to be released in future hostage-prisoner swaps
Thousands of Palestinians convicted of terrorism due to be freed in exchange for hostages held in Gaza
Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist

Just days after the first Palestinian prisoners were released by Israel as part of the ceasefire/hostage deal, details were emerging about who was being freed and of what they were convicted.
Pro-Palestinian supporters claimed that the majority of the 90 people released on Sunday, in exchange for just three Israeli women hostages held in Gaza, were women in Israel’s administrative detention and “children”. A BBC report claimed “all of the Palestinians released on Sunday, among them several children, were convicted of relatively minor offences.
“Many …were never charged at all and were held in Israeli prisons under what is called ‘administrative detention’, a process strongly condemned by human rights groups”.
In fact, new data released by the Israeli Justice Ministry show a very different picture: the list “includes individuals previously detained on charges related to terrorism or activities considered a threat to public safety.”
The ministry says that “90 percent of all released prisoners are male; 96 per cent are over 18 and the median age is 44”, while “only 6.5 percent were held under administrative detention”.
Additionally, says the ministry, “38.7 percent of prisoners were serving life sentences, while 44.7 per cent were serving eight years or longer. The remaining prisoners had not yet been handed a sentence”.
The majority of prisoners had lived in the West Bank before their arrest. Around seven per cent lived in East Jerusalem, and a further 12.1 percent in Gaza. More telling is the figure from the Justice Ministry that “ over 40 percent of the released prisoners are members of Hamas”.
Among those released on Sunday was Bushra al-Tawil, a 32-year-old journalist who has spent more than five years in Israeli jails, though not concurrently. She told the BBC that she had always been held without charge, most recently since March 2024, apart from on one occasion when she was prosecuted over a talk she gave in a mosque.
She was previously part of a prisoner exchange when Israel released more than 1,000 Palestinians for the kidnapped Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, in 2011. The most notorious person involved in that swap was Yahya Sinwar, who became the mastermind of the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack.
Today al-Tawil declines to confirm that she supports Hamas, saying she does not wish to be re-arrested. But she says: “The hostages meant I got out. As long as there are hostages, prisoners like me will get their freedom”.
Among those said to be on the list for release in the next stages of the deal is Zakaria Zubeidi, 49, imprisoned in 2019 for his role in the Beit El shootings on the West Bank. He is also understood to have been involved in a number of terror attacks, including a Beit She’an bombing that killed six people in 2002.
Mahmud Abu Warda is serving 48 life sentences for plotting multiple terror attacks including in Jerusalem in 1996, when 45 Israelis were killed in two bus bombings.
Also on the release list are said to be Wissam Abbasi, Mohammad Odeh, and Wael Qassim, three members of the so-called Silwan Squadron, jailed in 2002 over bombings that killed more than 30 Israelis in Jerusalem.
Israeli media has reported that Khalida Jarrar, leader of the left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) will be freed. And Khalil Yusef Ali Jabarin, imprisoned for the murder of activist Ari Fuld in 2018, is also thought to be on the list.
In the first phase of the ceasefire deal, 1800 more Palestinian prisoners are due to be released. Those convicted of murders are thought likely to be deported to places such as Qatar and Turkey.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.