Who are the four high-profile prisoners Hamas wants freed in the hostage talks?
Who are Marwan Barghouti, Ahmad Sa’adat, Ibrahim Hamed, and Abbas al-Sayed?
As Israel, Hamas, and international mediators convened in Egypt on Monday, four high-profile Palestinian prisoners, Marwan Barghouti, Ahmad Sa’adat, Ibrahim Hamed, and Abbas al-Sayed, were expected to top Hamas’s list for release in any exchange for Israeli hostages it holds.
Marwan Barghouti: Fatah leader convicted of five murders
Barghouti, a senior Fatah figure and former head of the Tanzim militia in the West Bank, was a key leader of the Second Intifada. He was arrested in Ramallah during Operation Defensive Shield in April 2002 and later convicted in an Israeli civilian court of five counts of murder and other offenses; he is serving five life sentences, plus additional years.
In April-May 2017, while leading a large prisoners’ hunger strike, Israel’s Prison Service released footage that it said showed Barghouti secretly eating in his cell, a clip his supporters called fabricated.
Barghouti remains one of the most popular Palestinian politicians, according to multiple surveys, and has frequently been mentioned in negotiations as a top Hamas demand.
Jailed Fatah official Marwan Barghouti (credit: REUTERS)
Ahmad Sa’adat: PFLP chief tied to the Ze’evi assassination
Sa’adat became secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in October 2001 after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed his predecessor, Abu Ali Mustafa. Israel holds him responsible for planning the 2001 assassination of Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi. After years under Palestinian Authority custody in Jericho, monitored by British and American wardens, the monitors withdrew, and the IDF raided the prison in March 2006, arresting Sa’adat. In 2008 an Israeli military court sentenced him to 30 years in prison.
Ibrahim Hamed: Hamas operations chief in the West Bank
Hamed served as a senior commander for Hamas’s Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades in the West Bank during the Second Intifada and was arrested in Ramallah in May 2006. He was convicted of orchestrating a series of major bombings, including the Café Moment bombing in Jerusalem (11 killed), the Hebrew University cafeteria bombing (9 killed), and other mass-casualty attacks. He received 54 consecutive life sentences for 46 murders.
Abbas al-Sayed: Mastermind of the 2002 Park Hotel massacre
Sayed, a senior Hamas operative from Tulkarm, helped plan the Passover night suicide bombing at Netanya’s Park Hotel in March 2002, which killed 30 people and wounded about 160. He was convicted in the Tel Aviv District Court and sentenced to 35 life sentences; Israel has repeatedly excluded him from previous prisoner swaps.
