Jamal al-Tawil, 61, a senior Hamas figure from the town of al-Bireh, located only a short distance north of Jerusalem, was re-arrested early Monday morning. He had been released in February this year as part of one of the exchange phases in the first stage of the hostage deal.
Released in the same phase as Ohad Ben Ami, Or Levi and Eli Sharabi
According to Palestinian reports, undercover IDF forces arrived at al-Tawil’s home in the Um al-Sharayet neighborhood of al-Bireh using a civilian Mercedes vehicle, enabling them to approach the house without attracting attention. Once the house was surrounded, the forces entered, separated al-Tawil from his sons, detained him, and left the area immediately.
In February 2025, al-Tawil was released from administrative detention during the fifth phase of the first stage of the hostage agreement. During that phase, Israeli hostages Ohad Ben Ami, Or Levi and Eli Sharabi were released, while 183 Palestinian prisoners were freed in return – al-Tawil among them.
His release received broad coverage in Palestinian media. He was taken directly to Ramallah Hospital, where relatives claimed he was unable to stand and had been beaten shortly before his release. His daughter, Bushra – herself a Hamas operative released in the first phase of the same deal – claimed that prison guards demanded he recite a Biblical verse and allegedly beat him when he refused.
A key figure in Hamas’ leadership in the Ramallah area
Al-Tawil is regarded as one of Hamas’ senior leaders in the Ramallah region. He has spent more than 18 years in Israeli prisons, including several administrative detentions. He has repeatedly been identified as a central figure in rebuilding Hamas’ organizational networks in the Ramallah area after Israeli security forces dismantled them.
His name has been linked in the past to alleged involvement in planning suicide bombings, political recruitment for Hamas, and participation in violent protests. During one of his previous imprisonments, al-Tawil was elected mayor of al-Bireh. In 1992, he was among the 415 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives expelled to Marj al-Zohour in Lebanon. In 2019, both he and his daughter were held in Israeli prisons at the same time (in separate facilities). He launched a hunger strike to protest her detention and demand her release.
