Israeli security officials have voiced opposition to the government’s approved plan to deport 250 Palestinian terrorists serving life sentences who are being released as part of a deal with Hamas, warning that sending them to Gaza or abroad could strengthen the group’s leadership and hinder Israel’s ability to monitor them.
Defense establishment officials recommended releasing some of the prisoners instead to the West Bank, where Israeli forces could more easily track their movements and re-arrest them if they return to terrorism.
The officials noted that the IDF is not expected to maintain a continuous ground presence in Gaza in the coming years. They cautioned that if the freed terrorists — including senior members of Hamas and other groups — are sent there, they could help rebuild Hamas’ command structure, which was largely dismantled during the war. They cited the example of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ former leader in Gaza and architect of the October 7 massacre, who was released from an Israeli prison in the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal.
The officials also warned that deporting the terrorists abroad could prove counterproductive. Many are expected to settle in Qatar or Turkey, countries associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, which supports Hamas. Such deportations, they said, would provide the freed terrorists with practical immunity from future Israeli assassination attempts, even if they resume their involvement in Hamas activities.
Similar disputes between the security establishment and the political leadership arose during two previous rounds of prisoner releases. During the second round, the IDF sought to limit public celebrations in Judea and Samaria and re-arrested some of the released prisoners, as it did after the Shalit deal.
The government approved the deal late Thursday. Under its terms, Israel will release 250 terrorists serving life sentences and 1,700 Gaza residents detained after the October 7 massacre who were not directly involved in the attack.
According to the government’s decision, “within 72 hours of the completion of the IDF’s operational preparations, 20 living Israeli hostages and 28 deceased hostages will be released from Gaza back to Israel, including four deceased hostages who are not Israeli citizens. All living and deceased hostages will be transferred to Israeli security forces.”
The resolution adds that “for reasons relating to the management of the state’s foreign relations and security,” 250 of the 270 terrorists serving life sentences in Israel will be freed.
The Shin Bet security agency said in response that it “does not comment on positions presented in closed discussions.”