Hamas-led militants released three Israeli hostages who appeared malnourished and weak on Saturday. In return, Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners, as part of a delicate agreement that has temporarily halted the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Seeing the hostages in such a frail state and the footage of Hamas compelling them to speak during a staged release ceremony has caused outrage in Israel. This situation may put pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prolong the current ceasefire period, which is set for six weeks.
Netanyahu has previously signalled he would resume the war, even if that meant leaving dozens of remaining hostages in Hamas captivity.
That included a notorious 2004 suicide bus bombing in Israel’s southern city of Beersheba that killed 16 people, including a 4-year-old.
Another is Jamal al-Tawil, a prominent Hamas politician in the occupied West Bank and former mayor of al-Bireh village abutting Ramallah.
This individual has a long history of being imprisoned in Israel, having been detained multiple times over the past two decades. His latest arrest in 2021 was related to alleged involvement in violent protests and attempts to strengthen Hamas’ presence in the West Bank.
He was then transferred to administrative detention, a repeatedly renewable six-month period in which suspects are held without charge or trial.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state.
