JERUSALEM: The Israeli justice ministry published a list of 95 Palestinian prisoners, the majority women, who are to be freed starting Sunday as part of the first exchange for Israeli captives under a Gaza ceasefire deal.
“The release of prisoners is... subject to government approval of the (ceasefire) plan and will not take place before Sunday 16:00 (1400 GMT),” the ministry said in a statement on Friday.
Israel’s security cabinet approved the deal, while the full cabinet will convene to vote on it later on Friday.
The list includes 69 women, 16 men and 10 minors.
According to the ministry, the youngest inmate on the list is 16.
The list includes only seven prisoners who were arrested before the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
Among those on the list is also Khalida Jarar, a leftist Palestinian lawmaker whom Israel arrested and imprisoned on several occasions.
Jarar is a prominent member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a group designated a “terrorist organization” by Israel, the United States and the European Union.
Detained in late December in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, the 60-year-old has been held since then without charge.
In September 2021, she was released after serving a two-year sentence in an Israeli prison for participating in PFLP activities.
According to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the release of hostages as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas is expected to begin Sunday.
Two sources close to Hamas told AFP that the first group of hostages to be released consists of three Israeli women soldiers.
However, since the Palestinian Islamist movement considers any Israeli of military age who has completed mandatory service a soldier, the reference could also apply to civilians abducted during the attack that triggered the war.
The first three names on a list obtained by AFP of the 33 hostages set to be released in the first phase are women under 30 who were not in military service on the day of the Hamas attack.
Justice ministry spokeswoman Noga Katz said the final number of prisoners to be released in the first swap would depend on the number of live hostages released by Hamas.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called on political allies to vote against the Gaza deal, stating it would see the release of several Palestinian militants “serving life sentences” for killing Israelis.
Israel publishes list of 95 Palestinian prisoners eligible for release starting Sunday
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Israel publishes list of 95 Palestinian prisoners eligible for release starting Sunday
- “The release of prisoners is... subject to government approval of the (ceasefire) plan and will not take place before Sunday,” the ministry said
- Among those on the list is also Khalida Jarar, a leftist Palestinian lawmaker whom Israel arrested and imprisoned on several occasions
Lebanon foreign minister declines Tehran visit, proposes talks in neutral country
- Lebanon’s foreign minister Youssef Raji cited ‘current conditions’ for the decision not to go to Iran
Lebanon’s foreign minister Youssef Raji said on Wednesday he had declined an invitation to visit Tehran for now, proposing instead talks with Iran in a mutually agreed neutral third country, Lebanese state news agency NNA reported.
Raji cited “current conditions” for the decision not to go to Iran, without elaborating, and stressed that the move did not mean rejection of dialogue with Iran. He did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for additional comment.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had extended the invitation last week, seeking talks on bilateral ties.
Raji said Lebanon stood ready to open a new phase of constructive relations with Iran, on the condition that ties be based strictly on mutual respect, full recognition of each country’s independence and sovereignty, and non-interference in internal affairs under any pretext.
In an apparent reference to calls to disarm Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed movement allied for decades to Iran, Raji added that no strong state could be built unless the government held the exclusive right to hold weapons.
Hezbollah, once a dominant political force with wide influence over the Lebanese state, was severely weakened by Israeli strikes last year that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire. It has been under mounting domestic and international pressure to surrender its weapons and place all arms under state control.
In August, Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani visited Beirut, warning Lebanon not to “confuse its enemies with its friends.” In June, Foreign Minister Araqchi said Tehran sought a
“new page” in ties.
