Ninety per cent of the 300 Palestinian prisoners who may be released by Israel are aged 18 or under, Sky News analysis has found.
Israel has agreed to release Palestinian prisoners in a deal with Hamas, who in turn will free some of the Israeli hostages in Gaza.
It is expected that 50 women and children held by Hamas would be freed over four days during a planned pause in Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Some 150 Palestinian women and children are expected to be released from Israeli jails and the pause would be extended an extra day for every 10 additional hostages released by Hamas, according to the prime minister of Israel’s office.
A list of the Palestinian prisoners who could be released has been published by the Israeli justice ministry.
Sky News has analysed the list and found:
One of the most well-known names on the list is Israa Jaabis. She was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison after a gas cylinder in her possession exploded at a police checkpoint.
The now 38-year-old gained media attention when she requested Israel pay for surgery to repair the burns and injuries she sustained during the fire.
The authorities turned down her request, according to Palestinian media agency, Alray.
The youngest of the 33 females is Nofoze Hammad, aged 15. Her offence is recorded as “attempted murder, support for terrorism, crimes against justice”. Hammad was to serve a 12-year-sentence after stabbing a Jewish woman, according to local news reports.
The husband of Moriah Cohen, the woman hurt in the attack, told Channel 12: “The children were with my wife when she was stabbed and we promised them that they would never see her [Hammad] again and that she would be in prison for the rest of her life.
“I don’t know what will happen next Saturday if my wife opens the door and sees this devil in front of her.”
While none of the prisoners eligible for release were charged with murder, Hammad is one of 117 individuals who have “attempted murder” mentioned in the offences recorded next to their names.
Other offences include supporting terrorism, arson, handling explosives and throwing stones, with 74 individuals accused of using rocks to attack Israelis.
Half of those on the list do not have links with any specific organisations. Around 50 people are recorded as being associated with Hamas.
Many of those on the list were held without trial, something humanitarian groups have criticised.
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It’s quite possible that Hamas will try to string out a pause in fighting for as long as possible.
While 300 names have been published, a spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister’s office confirmed to Sky News not all of the people on the list would be released.
“Since the deal says the Palestinian prisoners for each hostage, we are preparing 300 in case the terrorists will be kind enough to release 100 hostages, which even then will only mean 40% of them,” he said.
In addition, members of the public are able to appeal against the release of specific prisoners if they contact the authorities within 24 hours.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
