West Bank mother released in November hostage deal re-arrested, Palestinians say

Official Palestinian news outlet Wafa says several people have been arrested by Israeli troops in the town of Kobar overnight, including Hanan Barghouti, a 59-year-old mother released from Israeli detention in November as part of a deal to free hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Five others, most of them members of the extended Barghouti clan, are also arrested during a raid on the Ramallah-area town, Wafa says.

Hanan Barghouti had been the oldest detainee released by Israel in November, according to the Ynet news site. Upon her release, she was recorded waving a Hamas flag and praising the terror group and claimed to defiantly dismiss a warning she would be re-arrested.

Hanan Barghouti, a 59-year-old Palestinian mother from the occupied West Bank village of Kobar, north of Ramallah, has been in Israeli custody for over two months.

During the celebration of her release, she said, "without the resistance, I would never have been released." pic.twitter.com/uVx9LZlsHV

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) November 24, 2023

“No one can break my will,” she said at the time.

There is no immediate comment from the Israeli military.