By the numbers: Hebrew-language website says this is the smallest prisoner exchange since 1985
شبكة الخامسة للأنباء - غزة
The Hebrew site Walla reported that 195 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences will be released as part of a prisoner exchange with Hamas.
According to the site, in a report published last night, 60 prisoners out of a total of 150 are Hamas activists.
By comparison, in the Gilad Shalit deal in 2011, 450 Hamas activists were released.
It said that among 1,700 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip who will be released under the deal, the number of Hamas activists was reduced as much as possible, particularly those who took part in the October 7 attack, who will not be included in the deal.
According to the site, 25 senior Hamas leaders detained in Israeli prisons and demanded by the movement for release were vetoed by the Shin Bet.
The Shin Bet veto also included preventing the release of about 100 Palestinian prisoners, including senior Hamas leaders and activists who led its infrastructure, or were explosives experts, or took part in very deadly attacks.
The deal did not include any Palestinian prisoners from the Green Line.
Walla learned that Hamas pressed for the release of Palestinian prisoners who carried out attacks and have not yet been sentenced, or former highly dangerous prisoners who were recently re-arrested (some of whom had been released in the Shalit deal).
The site noted that Shin Bet representatives succeeded during the negotiations in reducing Hamas’s list to the smallest possible number of Palestinian prisoners, compared with previous deals.
It said that in the Jibril deal (1985) three Israeli soldiers were released alive in exchange for 1,151 Palestinians, of whom 380 were serving life sentences.
In a deal with Hezbollah (2004), three bodies and a former officer were released in exchange for 436 Palestinian, Lebanese and Arab prisoners.
In the Shalit deal (2011), he was released alive in exchange for the release of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners (including 450 Hamas members), of whom 279 were serving life sentences.
