From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 12, 2025
Former PA minister: 1st stage of hostage deal would free 25 Israelis in exchange for 1,248 Palestinian prisoners
The first stage of a potential hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas will entail the release of 25 Israeli hostages in exchange for 48 Palestinian security prisoners who were freed in the Shalit deal in 2011 and incarcerated again since, along with 200 prisoners serving life sentences, and another 1,000 detainees including women, children and wounded prisoners, according to a Palestinian prisoner advocacy group.
In a rare interview with Ramallah’s Maan news agency, Prisoners Club director Qadura Fares adds that all of the Palestinian prisoners would be allowed to return to their homes in East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank, except those serving life sentences, who would most likely be deported to either Qatar, Egypt or Turkey.
The former PA minister notes that this exception is necessary for the protection of the Palestinian prisoners against Israeli assassination attempts.
The Prisoners Club is a Palestinian organization that advocates on behalf of Palestinians in Israeli jails. While the organization used to be financially supported by the Palestinian Authority, Ramallah has reportedly ceased funding the body for at least five years.
Fares is also quoted by Maan as saying that Israel has been pushing for nine more hostages to be released in the first phase, including wounded IDF soldiers, in exchange for a yet-to-be-negotiated number of Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences.
The comments come amid reports of progress in ongoing talks in Doha to seal a hostage-ceasefire deal before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office next week.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a high-level Israeli delegation to Qatar last night to join the talks.
