As Part of Hostage Deal: Planner of Kidnapping and Murder of Three Teens to Be Released

Mahmoud Kawasmeh, a senior Hamas operative and one of the group’s most notorious killers, was reportedly added at the last minute to the roster of prisoners to be released under the current hostage exchange agreement.

Kawasmeh was the architect behind the 2014 abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers — Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Sha’ar, and Eyal Yifrah — an atrocity that ignited Israel’s Operation Protective Edge.

He had previously gained freedom in the Gilad Shalit prisoner deal but was expelled to Gaza, where he resumed orchestrating terror attacks, including the one that horrified Israelis and led to widespread military retaliation.

Amid the ongoing war, Israeli forces captured Kawasmeh during a military operation at Shifa Hospital, where he had been hiding.

Government officials were briefed that his name was added to the list of prisoners to be released due to his “promoting military activities against Judea and Samaria.”

Another individual scheduled for release is Ahmad Jamal Ahmad Kunba, who was convicted for the murder of Rabbi Raziel Shevach and had been serving a life sentence. As part of the terms of the agreement, Kunba will be deported to another country.

Also included is Mahmoud Musa Issa Issa, the terrorist behind the abduction and killing of Nissim Toledano, as well as a perpetrator of a vehicular ramming that claimed the lives of two IDF soldiers.

Ra’ad Ahmad Abdullah Abu Daher, sentenced to life for his role as an explosives expert and for dispatching suicide bombers to carry out deadly missions, is likewise on the list. Unlike others, Abu Daher will not be deported but will remain in the region after his release.

{Matzav.com}