(JNS) “I refuse to think about the Palestinian terrorist prisoner release,” said O. as she lifted weights at the Karnei Shomron gym. “It’s more stress than I can handle. I don’t carry a gun, my husband does. But I refuse to let these terrorists change my routine in any way. They don’t get to win!”
While it was business as usual for O., other area residents are more concerned. Some are even distraught. According to the Israeli Justice Ministry, Jerusalem will release 1,904 Palestinian terrorists in the first stage of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire: 737 prisoners and administrative detainees—among them murderers—and 1,167 residents of the Gaza Strip not involved in the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023.
Among the prominent names on the list is Zakaria Zubeidi, who led Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the Samaria city of Jenin and briefly escaped from Israel’s high-security Gilboa Prison in September 2021. Since he was not convicted of murder but of other terror offenses, he was not deported abroad but freed back to Judea and Samaria on Jan. 30.
Another Palestinian terrorist whose sentence is set to be commuted is Ahmad Barghouti, a cousin and close aide to Marwan Barghouti, the leader of the Second Intifada (2000-2005). Ahmad was sentenced to 13 life terms for leading a terror cell that carried out attacks in which 12 Israelis were killed, including the suicide bombing at the Seafood Market restaurant in Tel Aviv on March 5, 2002.
Also set for release is Khalida Jarrar, who according to the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) leads the PFLP terrorist group in Judea and Samaria. Already released are Mohammad Abu Warda and Sami Jaradat, who were responsible for terrorist attacks that combined killed 66 Israelis in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Both Abu Warda and Jaradat were deported to Egypt and banned from returning to Israeli territory.
Another of the terrorists already released, Khalil Jabarin, who murdered Ari Fuld at the Gush Etzion Junction in Judea in September 2018, is said to have been released to Egypt.
“On a personal level, it’s devastating and tragic that Ari’s murderer is walking freely,” Ari’s brother Hillel Fuld told JNS.
While he and his family believe the ceasefire is a “terrible, terrible deal,” he said, at the same time “it’s a beautiful deal, because these poor families deserve to be reunited with their loved ones,” referring to the Israeli hostages released by Hamas under the ceasefire.
Still, he continued, “The fact that terrorists are being released into Judea and Samaria—it’s just mind-blowingly pathetic that they would even take that chance since the vast majority of these terrorists are known to return to terror.”
Abed al-Hadi Kamil, a convicted terrorist from Qabatiya released by Israel during the November 2023 Israel-Hamas ceasefire, was killed overnight on Saturday in an Israeli airstrike near his hometown, just south of Jenin. He and other members of a terror cell were on their way to carry out an “imminent” attack, Israeli security forces said on Sunday.
In August, another terrorist released during the November ceasefire, Tarek Daoud, 18, opened fire on an Israeli man in Qalqilya, seriously wounding him, before being pursued and killed by security forces.
According to IDF data released on Tuesday, one in four of the Palestinian terrorists released under the November ceasefire have since been re-arrested or killed.
Earlier this week, the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) revealed that at least 82% of the Palestinians freed in November 2023 returned to terror.
As these prisoners are being released, the IDF is engaged in a large-scale counter-terror operation in Judea and Samaria. Dubbed “Iron Wall,” the operation was expanded in northern Samaria on Monday, and the military plans to form a new battalion that will remain in the Jenin and Tulkarem areas once it is completed.
Since the start of the operation on Jan. 21, the IDF has killed more than 50 Palestinian terrorists, the military said on Sunday. At least 35 gunmen were killed during ground operations in the Jenin and Tulkarem areas, while another 15 were killed in airstrikes. More than 100 wanted terrorists have been detained thus far.
“The army is being as proactive as they are being allowed to be,” Svietka Rivilis, an interior designer who lives in Eli, Samaria, told JNS. She points out that it isn’t just in Eli that people are “in shock and furious” about the prisoner releases, but also in Jerusalem.
She noted that as eastern Jerusalem residents are being released under the deal, many will have Israeli identity cards. “It’s as if Hamas has local agents among the general population,” she said.
“The ceasefire is not a reality,” she continued. “We’re sitting ducks. We’re waiting for them to throw the first punch. What have we been doing for the past 20 years? We’ve become sheep being led to the slaughter.”
The town of Eli has reorganized and updated its security, as have other Samaria municipalities like Ariel, to deal with the increased threat, but Rivilis says the average citizen is never really kept in the loop by local government.
Jared Brudno, a resident of the Samaria town of Karnei Shomron, expressed his outrage that the Palestinian prisoners were being released back into Judea and Samaria without any kind of oversight.
“Why hasn’t Israel required the use of some sort of ankle bracelet location monitor?” he said. “Especially for those released before their sentence is up? How about regular reporting to some sort of security monitor, or probation officer?” he added.
“Also, we need to think very carefully about how we vet Arab workers, if and when they return to employment in Israeli communities, as they undoubtedly will,” he said.
Protocols must also be put in place regarding what will happen should any of the released prisoners be involved in new attacks, directly or indirectly, he continued.
“The responses should be very severe and swift, regardless of popular or political opinion,” he said.
David Handler, another Karnei Shomron resident, said he was happy to see Israeli hostages return, yet remains very concerned about releasing terrorists to kill again.
He pointed out, however, that the IDF is much more prepared and active than it was before Oct. 7.
“This should, hopefully, prevent a new intifada. Unfortunately, the Arabs are more heavily armed than last time. To prevent a disaster, it would be a good idea to proactively disarm them,” he said.
