Sources involved in the negotiations tell the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Israel has agreed to free senior Fatah figure Marwan Barghouti, Popular Front leader Ahmad Sa’adat, and senior Hamas members Ibrahim Hamed and Hassan Salameh as part of a deal for the release of hostages in Gaza.
All four are serving multiple life sentences in Israeli prison for their roles planning terror attacks in which dozens of Israelis were killed, most of them during the Second Intifada.
Reports have indicated that 250 senior terror convicts are among the prisoners Israel will release, but there is less clarity regarding who is being sought and who Israel has agreed to let go.
Barghouti is thought to be a possible challenger to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s control of Ramallah.
Channel 12 news reports that Barghouti and Hamed will not be released.
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