After invading Israel and killing 1,400 people, the terrorist group Hamas and its leaders in other countries have made several demands. This includes the release of thousands of terrorists in Israeli prisons in exchange for the release of 240 hostages in the Gaza Strip.
But freeing terrorists is not that easy. Because many of those who won freedom through negotiations in the past returned to terrorism.
A recent case is that of Yahya Sinwar (photo), who was imprisoned twice in Israel after being convicted of kidnapping and murdering two people in 1988.
Sinwar was released in 2011 under an agreement reached during Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. On that occasion, 1,027 Palestinian terrorists were released in exchange for the release of soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been captured and held hostage by Hamas.
In 2017, Sinwar became head of Hamas’s political wing in Gaza after his release from prison. Israeli sources believe he was involved in planning the terrorist attack in October.
“Why can’t we give Hamas what it wants?asks Mosab Hassan Yousef, a Palestinian who is the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, one of the organization’s founders, in a video. Yousef is also the author of the book Son of Hamas.
Hamas members released as part of the prisoner exchange returned to take part in terrorist attacks. The most famous case is that of Yahya Sinwar. pic.twitter.com/wgtCgP9DXz
The Antagonist (@o_antagonista) October 31, 2023
According to him, Hamas’ demands cannot be met because the group’s ideology is not political but religious. “If it were just a political terrorist group, we could pressure them to make commitments, renounce violence and participate in the political process. But Hamas cannot be bent because it would rather die than give up its ideology. They think that they are holy warriors, that their holy mission is to destroy Israel and force 10 million Israelis to relocate as a prerequisite for building their Islamic state. So we can’t give them what they ask for,” says the author.
As an example, Yousef cites the case of Yahya Sinwar, who was released in a prisoner exchange and returned to Hamas’ political wing. “This guy, Sinwar, is tough. In fact, he beheaded a person in prison suspected of collaborating with Israel using the sink. No mercy. This is the man in charge of Hamas in Gaza today, and he is underground, most likely under AlShifa Hospital, using hospital patients as human shields to protect himself.”