Israel to Release Around 2000 Terrorists, Including Murderers and Rapists, in 1st Phase of Hostage Deal
Palestinian terrorist, who raped Israeli prison guard, set to be released under the deal.

With the Gaza ceasefire set to take effect on Sunday morning, more details of the hostages-for-terrorists deal come to light. Israel will be making painful concessions to the terror group Hamas to secure the return of hostages.
Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet approved the framework of a three-phase hostage deal. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will initially pause its counter-terrorism operation in Gaza for six weeks.
🚨 Another terrorist who will be released on Sunday at the first wave – is a 17-year-old terrorist from East Jerusalem who attempted to carry out a stabbing attack against police officers in the Old City of Jerusalem in May 2024, and was arrested. She is expected to be released… pic.twitter.com/8oKDb9oz6L
— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) January 17, 2025
In the first phase, Israel will release nearly 2,000 Palestinian terrorists, including “several serving multiple life sentences for deadly terror attacks and murder,” The Times of Israel noted.
Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages, of these only 25 are presumed to be alive. “Israeli officials said Saturday they believe 25 of the 33 hostages slated for release from Hamas captivity in the first phase of the deal approved by the government are alive,” the Israeli news website YNET reported. “In exchange for their return, Israel will release 737 Palestinian prisoners as part of the first phase of the cease-fire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal approved early Saturday.”
So, 1904 Palestinian prisoners — including terrorists — for 33 hostages. Hostages who may be dead or alive.
Among the prisoners set for release, a terrorist who murdered little Jonathan and his dad. pic.twitter.com/YpYZVdiOQX
— dahlia kurtz ✡︎ דליה קורץ (@DahliaKurtz) January 18, 2025
The Times of Israel described the details of the terrorists’ release:
Israel is set to release up to 1,904 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including several serving multiple life sentences for deadly terror attacks and murder, in return for 33 Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip during the first, 42-day phase of its deal with Hamas, according to a government decision made early Saturday morning.
The government approved the hostage and ceasefire deal after an eight-hour full cabinet meeting.
Among the Palestinians to go free are 737 jailed detainees and security prisoners, some of whom are serving life sentences for murder.
They include members of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah movement, along with women and children being held in Israeli jails. Some prisoners were released in 2011 in return for captive soldier Gilad Shalit later and re-arrested.
The Justice Ministry had, as of Saturday morning, published the names of 735 Palestinian prisoners to allow petitions against their release to be submitted to the High Court.
Israel will also be releasing 1,167 Palestinians detained in the Gaza Strip during the IDF’s ground offensive, who did not participate in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre in southern Israel.
Thabet Mardawi, who murdered tens of Israelis and injured hundreds in a series of terrorist attacks he planned and led, is just one of the 1,900 terrorists that Israel will release in return for 23 hostages (women and elderly).
Nobody in history made a more disgraceful deal. pic.twitter.com/fPPHilGXg7
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) January 18, 2025
Terrorist, who raped Israeli prison guard, set to be released under the deal
A Palestinian terrorist, who raped an Israeli prison guard, is also expected to be freed as part of the deal. Israeli female prison guards urged the authorities to kick him out of the country, rather than releasing him in the general Palestinian population.
“Female prison guards at Gilboa prison appealed to Defense Minister Israel Katz through their lawyer that the terrorist Mahmoud Atallah, who had sexually assaulted them while imprisoned, be deported upon his release as a result of the hostage, ceasefire deal, army radio reported Saturday,” the Jerusalem Post reported.
Convicted murderer and rapist, Mahmoud Atallah, threatened his Israeli victim, vowing to ‘haunt’ her for the rest of her life. “Atallah was indicted in September 2023 for the rape of a female prison guard in the “prison pimping” case. He was also serving a life sentence plus 15 years for murdering a Palestinian woman accused of collaborating with Israel,” the newspaper added.
The Jerusalem Post further reported:
The statement also noted that during his imprisonment, “Atallah had explicitly threatened a guard who had also been raped by him” and made abhorrent statements such as “I will haunt you for the rest of my life” and that he “would be released and take her to Nablus.”
Atallah was indicted in September 2023 for the rape of a female prison guard in the “prison pimping” case. He was also serving a life sentence plus 15 years for murdering a Palestinian woman accused of collaborating with Israel.
For another of Atallah’s victims, the guards’ appeal wrote that “It is clearly stated that Atallah terrorized her and threatened her family members.”
IDF prepares for hostage release
The Israeli armed forces are gearing up to bring back hostages from Hamas captivity. “The IDF is preparing to implement the agreement for the return of the hostages that was approved by the political echelon,” the military disclosed. “The IDF has been preparing to receive the hostages after their release from Hamas captivity and is operating to provide suitable physical and psychological support, with careful attention to every detail.”
When the ceasefire takes effect, the IDF has vowed to protect the Israeli civilians living near the Gaza border. “Alongside the agreement and our commitment to bringing home all the hostages, the IDF will continue to operate to ensure the security of all Israeli citizens, particularly those in communities near the Gaza Strip,” the military stated.

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Comments
hopefully embedded with trackers while they were beaten unconscious
I’d just settle for a permanent marker so that the next time they commit ANY terrorist or terrorist-supportive act, they can have a speedy trial followed by immediate execution. And let them know about it ahead of time, so that they know what they’re facing.
They should never agreed to this
Never
Don’t think I can forgive Trump this
Won’t forgive Trump for pushing this abomination of an agreement. And won’t forgive Netanyahu for agreeing to this abomination of an agreement.
When Hamas has time to find new leadership, regroup, and rearm and starts the terroristic violence once again I’ll have little sympathy for Israel and its plight. It’s as if they have a death wish.
This is exactly why I voted for Ben Gvir last time around after having voted for Bibi in every previous election since I moved here.
Why not, when you were so ready to forgive him the Shalit deal, and every previous time he’s shown the exact same lack of spine?
Or have you finally realized what I’ve been saying for the last 29 years, that Netanyahu talks a good talk but will always collapse under pressure, and do what’s good for him not for the country? He’s Israel’s Lindsay Graham, and always has been.
I was not willing to forgive him fir the Shalit deal but there has often been no viable alternative running.
>>Why not, when you were so ready to forgive him the Shalit deal, and every previous time he’s shown the exact same lack of spine?
<<
Quit making stuff up. I never forgave Netanyahu for any of his insane dealings with the Arab terrorists. Including the Shalit deal. Any deals that release hundreds or thousands of terrorists from prison for the return of a few hostages is a bad deal for Israel. And if Netanyahu hasn't figured that one out by now then G-d help Israel because nobody else will.
I won't forgive Netanyahu for his deals. Nor will I have as much sympathy for Israel once Hamas is allowed to reconstitute its leadership, regroup with the 2,000 released Arab terrorists, and rearm to continue its terror attacks against Israel.
I don’t believe you will stay mad at Trump
Oh, I will
When I was in middle school I took up German, I was obsessed with being a Nazi hunter
Realized I was tone deaf, terrible for learning new language
The HS I went to was called Washingstein instead of Washington because it was majorly Jewish
Dated a Jewish Vietnam Vet for 6 years, if his parents didn’t hate me, probably would have married and likely converted
They had a right to their feelings, but I deserved it. You can always forgive your blood, others not too much.
His father would look at me with such hatred… it was crazy
Anyway
I’ve always loved Israel, Golden Meir was from my hometown Milwaukee
My dad saw the concentration camps inWW2… you didn’t talk about it
As a young nurse in Milwaukee, I would take care of Newish survivors of the concentration camps,
Tats on arms.
They were old already, I was
Too scared to talk to them about it
Jesus… Jewish
Yes. He was.
These ratios, like the Gilad Shalit exchange, are unconscious-able. The 2.000 released will go right back into murdering Jews.
Chazal (our sages of blessed memory) specifically prohibited paying excessive ransom to free Jewish captives so as not to provide an incentive for further kidnappings. See Talmud Bavli, Tractate Bava Basra. Sorry, don’t have the specific page reference handy.
This deal is for Israel to offer,. accept or refuse. The US can apply pressure to Hamas and Israel but ultimately the decision is up to the Israeli Govt.
Where we can be critical of Trump is the status for return of US hostages. Where is the determination to get them back immediately? The USA has ample military means to get our Citizens returned and to hold Hamas accountable. I believe I saw.that of the 7 US.Citizens taken, 4 are believed dead. Two of the three living hostages are.to be released in the first phase. Not good enough.
Apparently you’ve never heard of making someone an offer he can’t refuse. The President-elect’s envoy made it pretty clear that’s what this was.
The problem with the whole ‘when the US says Jump Israel asks how high’ argument you present here is that you remove any responsibility or even agency for Israel. Either they are independent and sovereign or they are a client State cat’s paw of the USA. That’s the same argument the lefty anti Israeli whackos make.
I believe Israel is an independent sovereign Nation with as much legitimacy as any other Nation.
Except that it really isn’t. For at least the last 40 years Israel has had no capacity whatsoever to resist the USA. Its sovereignty is worth nothing when it comes to the USA. What the USA wants strongly enough, it gets.
Milhouse: I wish I could give you more upticks for this.
So Israel is not an independent sovereign Nation and is instead a puppet/client State of the USA just as the lefty pro ‘Palestinian’ mob is claiming?
That’s an unsettling claim/admission. It seems to lend some degree of support for whack ado anti Israel conspiracy theories.
I grant that the USA sends Israel $, sells it arms, shares Intel and closely cooperates in ME issues which gives the USA a degree of influence but that’s not the same as not being truly independent/sovereign.
Netanyahu should be thrown out of office. In the future, these 2,000 will kill far more than the number of hostages released. Given reports that Hamas has new recruits equivalent to the number killed – predictable given simple aging of the entire terrorist population – Netanyahu has achieved nothing but a lot of blown up buildings and dead Israeli soldiers with this war.
In return for losing the protection provided by having hostages, Hamas wants offsetting military capability. It’s called a deal.
One that should never have been accepted. And that Hamas has already started reneging on.
It’s not a deal; it’s extortion. (H/t Allan Dershowitz. See his comments at length.) My better half showed me a FB post that sums it up nicely: ‘Can I kidnap 2 random kids off the street in NYC and get the U.S. to set 100’s of serial killers free in exchange for their release, or is that something only Jews are expected to agree to?’
If a family paid millions of dollars in ransom to get their kidnapped children back, would you claim they had a deal with the kidnappers?
It’s called a one-sided, lopsided deal where Israel doesn’t benefit at all and Hamas and the Arab terrorists gain all of the advantages. A deal that should never have been accepted. A deal whose terms Hamas will quickly violate.
Turn to me and have mercy,
for I am alone and in deep distress.
My problems go from bad to worse.
Oh, save me from them all!
Feel my pain and see my trouble.
Forgive all my sins.
See how many enemies I have
and how viciously they hate me!
Protect me! Rescue my life from them!
Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge.
May integrity and honesty protect me,
for I put my hope in you.
O God, ransom Israel
from all its troubles. (Psalm 25:16-22)
Months ago I imaged this to have been a portion of scripture Naama Levi and other captives might be praying. (See also Psalm 13, 39, 40, 42, 43)
I can’t imagine the horrors that she, her fellow captives and their families are enduring.
I wept. This deal appears satanic with more and greater horrors likely to follow.
The cost , in the long run, will be worse than the deal.
This deal will just provide more incentive for Hamas to take and hold hostages and use them as pawns in their dealings with Israel. Hamas now knows Israel will do almost anything to get hostages back. Make any kind of deal, even if it’s not in the best interest of Israel. Two-thousand convicted terrorists released from Israeli prisons for what, under one-hundred remaining hostages held by Hamas, is a darn good deal . . . for Hamas. So expect quite the uptick in hostage taking. It’s gonna happen. Guaranteed.
There is a small chance that the Israelis know what they’re doing. I know, I know, it’s a small chance. And perhaps, just perhaps Mossad is smarter than Hamas.
And perhaps the ones they release will be killed shortly rather than being kept in prison and given board and room for years on end.
Now explain how we.get our 7 US Citizens taken hostage returned. IMO that should have always been.separate issue between the USA and Hamas. So IOW cool that y’all made.a.deal.with Israel but you didn’t return our Citizens so US military gonna bomb the snot out of Gaza till you do so.
Perhaps but that’s certainly not what happened after the release of 1,000+ terrorists in exchange for Gilad Shalit.
That was 18 years ago. Perhaps Israel has upped their game since then.
It’s the same Netanyahu.
And this time with even more leftist pressure demanding that he give away the store.
Did you think the same about every previous deal? If so you were proven wrong then, so why would this time be different?
IDK if the deal is as bad as everyone thinks.
I wonder if this is just a temporary ceasefire that the USA and Israel know Gaza will break (enough of calling Hamas something separate from Gaza. All of Gaza is Hamas). If the hostages are released and 3-4,000 terrorists are returned to Gaza then all that means is the IDF can target more freely when the next missile is fired at Israel.
Also, the vermin running the Biden administration have shown how they intend to sabotage Israel in every possible way in their last days (during their Downfall?). Does this temporary truce short circuit this sabotage?
Finally, what will happen in Gaza after Trump takes power? What limits on aid will be set? What will the USA do to UNRWA and how will the US back Israeli sanctions on the obviously pro-terrorist UN?
Is this just another phase in the war? Not the gratifying unconditional surrender, just preparing the battle space for the next phase? Given that it has become more than obvious that all of Gaza is Hamas the notion of separating Hamas from Gaza doesn’t seem possible.
“ If the hostages are released”
Big if. The deal calls for releasing only 33 of which nearly 1/3 are known to be dead. And they are to be released in groups of 3 or 4 over a period of over a month. The Bibas children, who are among those to be released, were supposed to be released in the first deal, more than a year ago. Not sure where on the list they are for this deal, but they’re not in the first group.
My mistake- weekly releases over a period of 6 weeks.
Islamofascists had change of heart, and promised to take up gardening in the future?
When hostages are taken we should have their funerals and go immediately to war — serious, hard war with intention to kill them all.
Also take 10 hostages for every one they took. Make them hurt.
And no, this doesn’t make us ‘just as bad as them.’ Remember who started it.
You get more of what you reward and less of what you punish.
No hostages.. just baggage
Just gets worse
Steve Witkoff is also the co-chair of President Trump’s inauguration committee, which has come under fire for inviting a radical Pro-Hezbollah Imam to lead a prayer at the Inauguration Monday.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/inauguration-chair-steve-witkoff-under-fire-terror-links/
If Israel were smart, it would place the hostages in quarantine for 30-days and treat them as if they’ve all been infected with a biological agent. Iran knows it’s unmatched against IDF and will have to lean even further into asymmetric warfare. It’s clearly not above purchasing a biological agent from Russia, China or North Korea.