Israel refusing Hamas demand to release terrorist mastermind Marwan Barghouti in exchange for hostages: report
Israel is refusing Hamas demands to release a high-profile terror mastermind in exchange for hostages, according to reports.Hamas terrorists have demanded the release of Marwan Barghouti, the former leader of the late Yasser Arafat’s Fatah party, since August, presumably to help the group maintain power in the Gaza strip, the Jerusalem Post reported.Barghouti is serving five life sentences for his role in the murder of five Israelis in 2000 during the second Palestinian intifada, which raged until 2005.
He was also a leader in the first Intifada, from 1987-1993.While Israel at one point considered releasing Barghouti, it is now objecting to granting him and other Palestinian prisoners their freedom, the Jerusalem Post reported.“Israel has a vision of alternative lists of Palestinian prisoners, including people who were recently arrested,” reports quoted the source as saying.Israel has also requested that some Palestinian prisoners be sent abroad instead of to the West Bank or Gaza, “which may be accepted by the mediators as a compromise to end this new obstacle,” the official said.Talks continued in Cairo Saturday between Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, el-Sissi’s office said.Sullivan on Thursday said Israel has “negotiated hard to defend and justify its position in this negotiation.” Hamas, however, “has been deeply intransigent,” the Times of Israel reported.Separately, President-elect Donald Trump’s designated Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week, the first time a member of the incoming administration has met with the Saudi Arabian leader since the election.Trump aims to seal a “mega-deal” with Saudi Arabia, including a historic peace agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia and progress toward ending the Israel-Hamas war, Axios reported.“I want a long lasting peace,” Trump told Time�...