As part of the hostage release deal with Hamas, several leaders of Fatah’s military wing have been released. These include significant terrorists responsible for major attacks during the Second Intifada.
For example, Ahmed Barghouti, Mansour Shreem, and Muhammad Nayef are three senior Fatah terrorists who were recently released to Egypt. They were filmed speaking with senior Hamas official Zaher Jabarin, and heaped praise on Hamas’ leadership for securing their release.
Notably, Ahmed Barghouti was the right-hand man of the terrorist leader Marwan Barghouti. Shreem and Nayef served as commanders in Tulkarem and were wanted by the IDF for their involvement in some of the most deadly attacks of the Second Intifada.
Of particular note is the massacre in Metzer in which five Israelis were murdered including a mother and her two children.
Other terror leaders have been released in previous weeks including Hatem Jiyusi, released last week in Tulkarem, as well as other senior members of Fatah’s military wing in Hebron. It is worth emphasizing that these terror leaders are not low-level, unknown individuals, but rather they are terror leaders who are celebrated by the Fatah youth movement, and regarded as heroes among the Palestinian Authority’s security forces.
Their images were prominently displayed at a rally organized by the PA in Tulkarem in support of the security forces' activities in Jenin.
The attacks they perpetrated were also not random acts of violence but rather well-organized operations funded by the Palestinian Authority. For example, Muhammad Nayef admitted during his interrogation that he received money directly from Yasser Arafat the PA chairman at the time. Likewise, Ahmed Barghouti plotted his attacks from within the PA’s administration.
Around four years ago, senior members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades from the Second Intifada who were not convicted of murder but received sentences of 18-20 years, began to be released.
Here at Hakol HaYehudi we covered the celebrations of these terrorists’ release and noted the number of illegal weapons on display at the celebrations. We also warned of the potential rise in terror attacks that would follow. Indeed, shortly thereafter, previously underground terror factions began re-emerging including those affiliated with Fatah. These new factions were inspired by figures like Zakaria Zubeidi and others who have been released. These elder terror leaders have served as examples for the younger generation, and shockingly some of the released terrorists even received their ranks back within the Palestinian security forces.
The terrorists freed on Saturday, who publicly praised Hamas, are seen as heroes by Fatah’s younger generation including both members of the explicitly terror-focused Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade and members of the PA’s security forces.
For example, the younger brother of Mansour Shreem, released this past Saturday, was a commander of the Tulkarem battalion and was eliminated by the IDF a few months ago. Similarly, the younger generations of the Zubeidi family, which led the Jenin battalion in the past, have expressed support for Hamas and view themselves as future leaders of Fatah. It is likely that in the future the Fatah Revolutionary Council will have not just one Zubeidi, but many leaders who owe their freedom to Hamas. This council ultimately controls many of the PA Security Forces, who have received advanced training abroad.
The threat of the PA forces turning their weapons around appears more serious than ever.
