As President Trump works to finalize a ceasefire and hostage exchange in Gaza, an Israeli family warns against releasing a notorious Hamas terrorist, fearing renewed violence.
As President Donald Trump advances his 20-point plan aimed at ending the Gaza conflict, Israel faces a critical decision that could significantly alter the landscape of the region. The proposed framework includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the return of all hostages, and a substantial prisoner exchange. In exchange, Hamas would agree to disarm and permit a technocratic transitional authority to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction.
A contentious aspect of the agreement involves the release of hundreds of convicted Palestinian terrorists, a provision that has already sparked outrage among the families of victims of terrorism. Dr. Michael Milshtein, head of the Moshe Dayan Forum at Tel Aviv University and a leading expert on Hamas, expressed serious concerns about the implications of such a release. He noted that the list of approximately 250 prisoners includes individuals who pose what he termed “a real strategic danger.”
“These are not low-level activists,” Milshtein stated. “Among them are individuals who have built power and influence while incarcerated. If released, they will return as leaders.” He provided several examples to illustrate the risks associated with past prisoner exchanges. Notable names on the current list include Abbas al-Sayed, convicted for the 2002 Park Hotel bombing in Netanya that resulted in 30 fatalities; Ibrahim Hamed, a former Hamas military commander serving over 40 life sentences; and Abdullah Barghouti, who manufactured explosives for a series of devastating suicide bombings.
“These are individuals with dozens of life sentences,” Milshtein explained. “We’ve already seen the consequences of releasing such figures. Many of those responsible for the October 7 massacre were prisoners freed in the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal.” Milshtein also pointed out that several recently released prisoners have quickly rejoined Hamas’s leadership abroad. He cited Abdel Nasser Issa, a Hamas operative convicted in 1995, who was released earlier this year and subsequently relocated to Turkey, where he began appearing in podcasts as part of the group’s senior political echelon. “That is the model,” he remarked. “They enter prison as operatives and emerge as decision-makers.”
Among the most alarming names on the draft list is Jamal Al-Hur, whom Milshtein described as “one of the five most dangerous.” Al-Hur, who has spent nearly three decades in prison, is deeply connected to Hamas’s hierarchy and acts as a key liaison between jailed operatives and the group’s external leadership. “He didn’t enter as a leader but became one inside,” Milshtein noted. “If released, he will quickly re-establish himself—just as others have done before him.”
The inclusion of Al-Hur in the proposed release has reignited anguish for the family of Sharon Edri, the Israeli soldier he helped kidnap, torture, and murder in 1996. Al-Hur was also convicted for the 1997 Apropo Café bombing in Tel Aviv, which killed 13 civilians. His name has appeared on proposed release lists twice before, only to be removed following public outcry.
“I know what it’s like not to know where your brother is for seven months,” said Danielle Edri Karten, Edri’s sister, who resides in New York. “There’s nothing that makes me happier than knowing families will soon be reunited with the hostages. But this man shouldn’t be released—not just because of my brother, but because of the danger he still poses.”
“He kidnapped, mutilated, and tortured my uncle,” added Izzy Karten, Edri’s nephew, in an interview with Fox News Digital from New York. “He went to jail, was released, and then committed the Apropo Café bombing. Later, he helped organize the kidnapping of three boys that sparked the 2014 war. Now he’s a senior Hamas leader inside prison—that’s why we call him the next Sinwar.”
Karten emphasized, “We’re not against the peace deal. We’re praying for the hostages to come home. We just need to ensure they aren’t traded for the worst of the worst.” The family has initiated a new petition urging the Israeli government to prevent Al-Hur’s release and to prohibit any future exchanges involving convicted murderers.
During Sharon Edri’s funeral nearly three decades ago, Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed to the family, “We are telling the killers—you won’t break the people and the family. We will not forget him and your daughter Hana. We will end the terror and will bring peace.” The family now fears that this promise may be compromised.
In addition to the list of notorious prisoners, another issue complicates the negotiations: Hamas’s demand for the release of approximately 90 members of its elite “Nukhba” force, the commandos responsible for the most horrific atrocities during the October 7 attack on Israeli communities. Milshtein, who visited the section of Ramla Prison where some of these terrorists are held, reported that they remain unrepentant. “I spoke with them,” he told Fox News Digital. “They are fanatical—completely committed. They show no remorse. The only thing they regret is not having killed more people.”
He characterized the Nukhba detainees as the most ideologically extreme and operationally capable among Hamas’s ranks. “They are akin to a special-forces division with a radical worldview,” he stated. “Releasing them would be like unleashing the individuals who planned and executed the worst day in Israel’s history.”
Despite the significant risks involved, Milshtein acknowledged that Israel may find itself with few alternatives. “It’s a terrible dilemma,” he admitted. “But strategically, this may be one of those bitter compromises Israel will have to make to bring its citizens home.”
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