The first group of Palestinian prisoners have been released by Israel under the terms of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
Shortly after 4pm on Friday, the Israeli Prison Service released 39 prisoners, which include 24 women and 15 minors.
All 39 will be transferred to the Beitunia checkpoint close to Ramallah after being held at Ofer Prison in the West Bank since 12pm on Friday.
Under the terms of the agreement, the released Palestinians will be allowed to return to their previous residences.
While some of the Palestinians aren’t associated with any specific terrorist group, many are affiliated with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, 150 Palestinian security prisoners and 50 Israeli hostages – primarily women and children – will be released in stages over a four-day period.
Israeli victims of terrorism have a 24-hour window to file petitions against the prisoner releases to the High Court of Justice.
Meanwhile, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has instructed police to employ “an iron fist” against attempts to celebrate the expected release of Palestinian terrorists.
“My instructions are clear: There are to be no expressions of joy,” Ben-Gvir told Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and Israel Prison Service Commissioner Katy Perry.
“Expressions of joy are equivalent to backing terrorism; victory celebrations give backing to those human scum, for those Nazis,” he added.
The full list of the first 39 Palestinian prisoners being released by Israel:
Minor prisoners:
- Youssef Muhammad Mustafa Atta of Ramallah
- Qusay Hani Ali Ahmed of Bethlehem
- Jibril Ghassan Ismail Jibril of Qalqilya
- Muhammad Ahmed Suleiman Abu Rajab of Hebron
- Ahmed Noman Ahmed Abu Naim of Ramallah
- Baraa Bilal Mahmoud Rabai of Hebron
- Aban Iyad Muhammad Saeed Hammad of Qalqilya
- Moataz Hatem Musa Abu Aram of Hebron
- Iyad Abdel Qader Muhammad Khatib of Jerusalem
- Laith Khalil Othman Othman of Ramallah
- Muhammad Mahmoud Ayoub Dar Darwish of Ramallah
- Jamal Khalil Jamal Barahma of Jericho
- Jamal Youssef Jamal Abu Hamdan of Nablus
- Muhammad Anis Salim Turabi of Nablus
- Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Rahman Suleiman Rizq of Jerusalem
Female prisoners:
- Rawan Nafez Muhammad Abu Matar of Ramallah
- Marah Jawdat Musa Bakir of Jerusalem - Sentenced to eight and a half years in prison in 2015 for carrying out a stabbing attack which injured two Israelis in Sheikh Jarrah
- King Muhammad Yusuf Suleiman of Jerusalem
- Amani Khaled Noman Hashem of Jerusalem
- Nahaya Khader Hussein Sawan of Jerusalem
- Fayrouz Fayez Mahmoud Al-Bo of Jerusalem
- Adnan Muhammad Abu Sariya of Nablus
- Palestine Farid Abdul Latif Najm of Nablus
- Walaa Khaled Fawzi Tangier of Tulkarm
- Maryam Khaled Abdel Majeed Arafat of Nablus
- Aseel Munir Ibrahim Al-Titi of Nablus – Jailed after stabbing a prison guard with scissors
- Azhar Thaer Bakr Assaf of Jerusalem
- Raghad Nashaat Salah Al-Fanni of Tulkarm
- Fatima Numan Ali Badr of Jerusalem – Jailed after attempted stabbing of security guards
- Musa Abdel Qader Abu Ajamiya Kindergarten of Bethlehem
- Sarah Ayman Abdel Aziz Abdullah Al-Suwaisa of Nablus
- Fatima Ismail Abdel Rahman Shaheen of Bethlehem
- Samira Abdel Harbawi of Jerusalem
- Samah Bilal Abdel Rahman Sof of Qalqilya
- Fatima Bakr Musa Abu Shalal of Nablus
- Hanan Saleh Abdullah Al-Barghouti of Ramallah - Accused by Israel of supporting terrorism. She is the sister of Commander Nael Al-Barghouti, a senior Hamas member who served 33 years in prison for participating in the kidnapping and killing of an Israeli soldier.
- Fatima Nasr Muhammad Amarneh of Jenin – Jailed after attempted stabbing
- Zeina Raed Abdo of Jerusalem
- Nour Muhammad Hafez Al-Taher of Nablus
