Israel has released a list of 300 Palestinian prisoners, arrested earlier for carrying out riots and stone-pelting, in anticipation that the Hamas militant group may be able to release more than the promised 50 Israeli hostages. The list was released on Wednesday (Nov 22) by Israel’s Justice Ministry. As per Haaretz, the ministry also reportedly gave a time frame of 24 hours to the public to appeal to the court regarding the list.
A ceasefire was earlier agreed upon for a minimum of four days will facilitate the release of at least 50 hostages in exchange for only 150 Palestinians jailed in Israel.
Who all are there in the released list?
Both sides have agreed to release 150 females and minors. Meanwhile, 287 out of 300 detainees mentioned in the list are males who are aged under 18. The remaining 13 prisoners are adult women arrested for attempting terror stabbing.
These Palestinians were arrested by Israel in connection to clashes with police, throwing stones, and riots in the West Bank and East Jerusalem region, media reports said.
The West Bank and East Jerusalem region has been brewing with violence for a long time and there have been many instances of clashes between Palestinians and police at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque, especially during major holidays.
Many pro-Palestinians have been calling for a truce in the Israel-Hamas war however the talks were not able to reach any conclusive end till Wednesday, which finally reached a major breakthrough.
The agreement was cleared by the full Israeli cabinet
Watch | Israel approves hostage deal with Hamas
Qatar played a pivotal role in reaching the agreement. The truce comes as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has been quite dire with the Hamas-run government saying that the Palestinian death toll in the besieged region has surpassed 14,000.
The truce is a ray of hope for many of Gaza’s civilians who are caught in the crossfire between Israel and Hamas. Many Israelis have been outrageous of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inaction over the hostage situation.
As per Israel, the ceasefire might be extended depending on hostages being freed by Hamas militant group.
Netanyahu along with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Minister Benny Gantz have been given the power by the government to continue to assess the situation at every step. They will call the shots as to when the cease-fire will end and for how long it will be there.
(With inputs from agencies)
