Tensions have erupted among hundreds of militants – many of whom carried out deadly attacks in Jerusalem – who were freed in the hostage deal and deported from Israel to Egypt. The releasees now threaten to launch protests against the Palestinian Authority unless their demands are met. According to them, they have been abandoned, effectively exchanging Israeli prison for a “golden cage” inside Cairo hotels.
Who Are the Jerusalem Attackers Freed in the Hostage Deal and Now Complaining in Cairo?
A total of 383 life-sentence prisoners freed in the hostage deal were deported to Egypt. So far, only 90 have secured permanent placement in a third country willing to absorb them, mainly Turkey and Malaysia. The rest remain stuck inside luxury hotels in Cairo, barred by Egyptian authorities from leaving the premises.
Among those deported are militants responsible for major attacks in Jerusalem. These include Nasser and Mahmoud Abu Sarur, convicted of murdering Shin Bet coordinator Haim Nachmani in Jerusalem in 1993, and Mahmoud Mousa Issa, founder of Hamas’ Jerusalem cell who led the group that murdered Border Police officer Staff Sergeant Nissim Toledano. Other deportees include dispatchers and accomplices involved in mass-casualty suicide bombings that killed many Israelis in Jerusalem.
Their primary grievance is financial. Under American pressure, the Palestinian Authority recently stopped paying salaries based on the length of Israeli prison sentences and shifted to socio-economic criteria. Since many of the militants had received long sentences for killing Israelis, the change severely damaged their income. They remind PA President Mahmoud Abbas of his long-standing declaration that “the last penny of the Palestinian people will go to our heroic prisoners.” The deportees are also demanding permanent residency, health insurance due to illnesses developed during their years in Israeli prison, family reunification, and freedom of movement in Egypt.
The deported militants warn that if the PA does not respond, they will soon launch protest actions, beginning with a media campaign intended to embarrass Palestinian Authority leaders who, they claim, abandoned them.
