PA terror salaries to prisoners are “not a social issue,” says released terrorist on PA TV
Official PA TV program Good Morning Jerusalem, interview with terrorist Majd Barbar – a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror organization arrested for attempted murder – who was released on March 29, 2021, after 20 years in prison
Released terrorist Majd Barbar: “The prisoners view the coming Palestinian [PA] elections as an opportunity to restore the unity to our Palestinian people…
Something else that the prisoners want is that they not be considered a humanitarian issue. We hear a lot of talk in the Israeli media outlets about the prisoners’ salaries and the rest. This is not a social issue, and it is not a humanitarian issue. No one is doing the prisoners any favors, rather they are political fighters of the highest order – they have paid high prices, [they have paid with] their lives, for the sake of their people, their land, and their identity…
I call out here on behalf of all the prisoners, all our national and Islamic factions, let them work seriously and truly to bring an end to the issue of the prisoners, even if we completely understand that this issue will continue as long as the occupation continues…
Another point, if you will… On behalf of the prisoners of the Loyalty to the Free People deal (i.e., prisoners released in the Shalit prisoner exchange who were later rearrested; see note below)… They are undergoing a difficult 7 years in prison… They lived for two-and-a-half years, built families, and began to stabilize after years in prison… This issue needs to end quickly, it is enough years… Honestly, the prisoners do not want to be ‘senior prisoners’ and ‘veteran prisoners.’ They want to end this issue.”
[Official PA TV, Good Morning Jerusalem, April 2, 2021]
In October 2011, the Israeli government agreed to release 1,027 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prison in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held hostage by Hamas for more than 5 years. Dozens of the terrorists released in that deal were rearrested in June 2014, following the abduction of Israeli teens Eyal Yifrach, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Fraenkel, 16.