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Bloomberg News Calls Imprisoned Hamas Terrorists ‘Political Prisoners’
Hamas terrorists kidnapping Israeli women at the Nahal Oz base near the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: Screenshot
In her Aug. 26 Bloomberg Brief broadcast, Joumanna Bercetche erroneously reported about Palestinian prisoners to be released in a possible Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
She stated (18:50):
The goal here, which the US Administration and international community has been pressing for, is a cessation of hostilities but also the exchange of hostages and Palestinian political prisoners. [Emphasis added.]
Palestinian prisoners who would be released under the ceasefire proposal are in no way “political prisoners.”
Political prisoners are those held for their beliefs or political activity like participation in legal, non-violent demonstrations.
In the ceasefire negotiations, Hamas is holding hard and fast for its demands for the release of its terrorists and operatives — i.e., members of a designated terror organization. Hamas operatives are not “political prisoners.”
Palestinian journalist Abd Al-Bari Fayyad has made clear that Hamas is demanding the release of its members. He wrote:
… It seems that Hamas’ rigid position is closing the window on the negotiations for the release of the Israeli hostages, because it adheres to [its demand] to release all its operatives from Israel’s prisons in exchange [for the hostages]. [emphasis added]
Western nations do not regard incarcerated terrorists as political prisoners, as the European Council definition makes clear.
Palestinians who carry out terror attacks against Israeli citizens are not protesting their own (Palestinian) government with non-violent activity.
Hamas’ Ali Baraka has said that Hamas also seeks the release of Hamas prisoners held in the United States and Europe. Does Bloomberg believe that Hamas terrorists held in jail in the US and Europe are also “political prisoners”?
As Bloomberg itself has previously reported, among the prisoners released in earlier deals include Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7 massacre, and Ahmed Yassin.
Hamas also demands the release of Marwan Barghouti, a former head of the Tanzim terror organization, who was convicted for the murder of five Israelis and the wounding of many more. Barghouti, like is colleagues in the rival terror organization of Hamas, is also no political prisoner.
Media outlets that have previously corrected erroneous references to imprisoned Palestinian terrorists as “political prisoners” include The Guardian, Independent, Christian Science Monitor, and Deadline Hollywood.
In response to communication from CAMERA, editors added the following problematic clarification to its webpage carrying the broadcast:
(In referring to an outcome of talks, our correspondent referred to the release of Palestinian political prisoners. Prisoners being held may not necessarily be for political reasons and may be operatives in the conflict.)
The post Bloomberg News Calls Imprisoned Hamas Terrorists ‘Political Prisoners’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.