[News] Hundreds of Palestinians freed from Israeli jails after weeklong hold up

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 Hundreds of Palestinians freed from Israeli jails after weeklong hold up

Tel Aviv is hoping to extend the first phase of the agreement, and is
reportedly banking on resuming its war on Gaza with full intensity

News Desk <https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9>

FEB 27, 2025 -
https://thecradle.co/articles/hundreds-of-palestinians-freed-from-israeli-jails-after-weeklong-hold-up
(Photo credit: X)

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners
<https://www.aa.com.tr/ar/%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84/%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%81%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D9%83%D8%AA%D9%85%D9%84-%D8%A8%D8%A5%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%85-%D8%B9%D9%86-46-%D8%A3%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7-/3494937>
were let out from Israel’s prisons early on 27 February in exchange for the
handover of the bodies of four Israeli captives who were held in Gaza, as
part of the seventh and final round of exchanges for phase one of the
ceasefire.

The bodies of the four Israeli captives were handed over silently and not
covered by the media, as Tel Aviv had demanded that Hamas refrain from
holding its customary captive release ceremony.

Five hundred and ninety-six Palestinian prisoners were released overnight
out of the 642 detainees whose release was held up by Israel last weekend.
There are 46 other prisoners who are expected to be released in the coming
hours, which include women and children.

Among the released were those with high sentences and life sentences. The
prisoners were received in the occupied West Bank and southern Gaza's city
of Khan Yunis. Nearly 100 have been exiled to Egypt.

The world’s longest-serving political prisoner, Nael al-Barghouti, referred
to as the “dean” of Palestinian detainees, was among those released and
exiled to Egypt.

He spent 45 years in Israeli custody, including 34 consecutive years. He
was released in 2011 as part of the Gilad Shalit deal that saw 1,000
prisoners, including late Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, get released. However,
he was rearrested in 2014 and slapped with a renewed life sentence.

US envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, is expected to travel to Israel on
Sunday to negotiate an extension of the first phase of the ceasefire deal.

According to reports
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/live-blog-israeli-army-paralyzed-on-oct-7-witkoff-no-evacuation-plan-day-509/>,
Israel is looking to violate the deal by maintaining its military presence
along the Philadelphi corridor on southern Gaza’s border with Egypt.
Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that the corridor
will remain “a buffer zone just as the case is in Lebanon and Syria.” Tel
Aviv is also reportedly planning for a resumption
<https://thecradle.co/articles/israel-wants-full-hamas-disarmament-buffer-zones-in-gaza-during-phase-two-of-ceasefire-talks-report>
of
its brutal war against Gaza after having imposed new conditions, including
the full disarmament of Hamas and the release of all remaining captives in
a single swap.

According to a report by *Haaretz*, “as far as [Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin] Netanyahu is concerned, there is no second stage” of the deal.

The report says Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer recently
told Witkoff that Netanyahu’s plan is to secure the release of all captives
in a single stage, and that Hamas will receive prisoners in exchange.
Otherwise, “Israel will return to intense warfare” and reimplement a
“version” of the Generals’ Plan – which saw the expulsion of hundreds of
thousands of Palestinians from north Gaza, the killing of thousands, and
the destruction of the Gaza health sector.
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