For many Israelis, prospect of hostage release is tempered by concerns about freeing terrorists
In exchange for the hostages, Israel is due to again release more than 1,000 Palestinians imprisoned for terrorism who could one day commit another attack
Freed Palestinian prisoner Ateya Abu Moussa, who was held by Israel for 20 years, is greeted by his relatives and friends upon arrival at his family’s house in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Aug. 14, 2013. (Abed Rahim Khatib / Flash 90)
(JTA) — Oct. 18, 2011, was a landmark day in Israeli history. Five years after he was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists, the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released from captivity in Gaza and photographed in uniform saluting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in what felt like an iconic moment and a sign of the success of a committed protest movement for his freedom, led by his indefatigable parents.
When she ruminated on the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal that was announced Wednesday, that’s the moment Israeli politician Einat Wilf recalled — because in exchange for Shalit’s freedom, Israel released 1,027 Palestinian security prisoners, including Yahya Sinwar, who would become the architect of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
“So many of us felt relief at the Shalit deal, and we know how that ended,” said Wilf, a former centrist lawmaker who just announced that she would run in Israel’s next election. “1,027 terrorists. Can we be sure that what was, will not be again?”
Most Israelis support the ceasefire deal, which if fully implemented would end the 15-month-long Israel-Hamas war and free the 98 hostages Hamas took in the Oct. 7 attack and still holds captive.
But the trepidation Wilf expressed is also widespread. That’s because in exchange for the hostages, Israel is due to again release more than 1,000 Palestinians imprisoned for terrorism who could one day commit another attack.
The uneasiness around releasing convicted terrorists, including those who have killed Israelis, extends even to the deal’s most fervent supporters. At a press briefing on Thursday, Udi Goren, a cousin of hostage Tal Haimi, whose body is being held by Hamas, called the agreement a “really bad deal” and said he recognized the dangerous nature of the prisoners Israel was to release. But he still supports the agreement.
“Do I like it? No,” he said of the impending prisoner release. “They’re insane jihadist murderous terrorists. Is there another way? No, there isn’t. And this is how negotiations work. You need to give something in order to get something. And because we are, at the end of the day, a Western democracy that values human lives, we will give whatever is needed in return in order to get our people back.”
Polls over recent months have consistently shown that a majority of Israelis support a deal to end the war in exchange for the release of all of the hostages. Often, the polls do not directly mention the release of Palestinian security prisoners, but that clause of the deal has been widely reported in Israel — and spotlighted by many of the agreement’s opponents.
Israel has released Palestinian security prisoners several times as part of negotiations with Palestinian leaders and other groups. In the last substantive set of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, more than a decade ago, Netanyahu’s government released dozens of Palestinian prisoners. (The negotiations fizzled after nine months.)
Israel also released five convicted terrorists for the bodies of two soldiers captured by Hezbollah in 2008. And it released hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners during the November 2023 ceasefire that freed more than 100 hostages taken by Hamas.
Critics of the current deal often focus on a desire to achieve “total victory” over Hamas. But another common claim is that the next Sinwar might be among the freed prisoners — presaging a future attack on Israel and the perpetuation of a dismal cycle. (Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right National Security minister, has threatened to pull his party out of the governing coalition if the deal goes through.)
In his litany of social media posts against the deal, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich objected to the release of “arch terrorists.” In June, shortly after Biden announced the framework for a ceasefire deal, Smotrich railed against “the wholesale release of terrorists who will return, God forbid, to murdering Jews.”
The minority of hostage families who oppose this week’s agreement have also echoed that fear. The Tikva Forum, which represents those families, said in a statement that the current deal “sets the stage for the next massacre and future kidnappings of Israelis.”
The organization added, “Like all Jews and Israelis, we felt excitement and relief at the release or rescue of each hostage after a long and cruel period of captivity by an evil enemy. However, this deal endangers the hostages left behind and Israel as a whole.”
Rank-and-file Israeli critics of the deal shared those concerns.
“A deal like this is dangerous in the state of Israel, as it is meant to essentially free thousands of murderers from prison,” said Jerusalemite Nerya Shandorfi. “We want all of the hostages home, but not at any price that would cause Jewish blood to be spilled.”
Some advocates for Israel abroad have likewise reacted with wariness. A range of major Jewish organizations released statements welcoming the deal on Wednesday — and the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey followed suit. But its statement said it “cautiously welcomes” the deal — noting the release of the Palestinian prisoners.
“Israel paid a steep price to bring home innocent civilians including women and children,” the statement said. “In return, Hamas is receiving many terrorists with blood on their hands.”
Gershon Baskin, a longtime Israeli activist who played a key role in brokering the Shalit deal, said he, too, believed the agreement facing approval now was “a bad deal” for many reasons — but also the best available.
Despite past experience, he tweeted a wish that the release of security prisoners would not lead to more attacks.
“Many Palestinian prisoners will be released, not all of them to their homes,” he wrote. “I hope that they never return to violence. I hope that Israel never arrests them again.”
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