Hamas pushing for release of top terrorist in hostage deal: Report

By World Israel News Staff

Hamas is demanding the release of imprisoned arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti as part of a hostage deal that would see the terror group release Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip for more than a year, according to Arabic media reports.

Barghouti, 65, is currently serving five life sentences for his involvement in deadly suicide bombings during the Second Intifada.

A founder of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades terror group, Barghouti is an extremely popular figure among Palestinians, with polls finding he would easily win a Palestinian Authority election for president.

Releasing Barghouti is a non-starter for Israel, according to the reports, and Israeli negotiators have outright denied the demand.

“Israel has a vision of alternative lists of Palestinian prisoners, including people who were recently arrested, which could delay the drafting of the agreement,” an Egyptian source told Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is affiliated with Hezbollah.

The source added that Israel wants to exile the released prisoners to third countries rather allowing them to return to PA-conrolled enclaves in Judea and Samaria or the Gaa Strip.

This condition “may be accepted by the mediators as a compromise to end this new obstacle,” the source said.

A Hamas official, speaking anonymously, told a Saudi outlet on Monday that Israel and the terror group were “closer than ever to reaching a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal.”

However, the group specified that the deal could only come to fruition “if [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu does not obstruct the agreement,” urging the Biden administration to increase its pressure on the Israeli government.

The Hamas official claimed that the terror group has demonstrated “great flexibility,” including approving a “gradual end to the war and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces according to an agreed-upon timetable, and guarantees from international mediators.”