RSS
What’s New? The PLO Promises Jobs to Released Terrorists
Israeli soldiers guard along a fence leading to Judea and Samaria, as part of search efforts to capture six Palestinian terrorists who escaped from Gilboa Prison earlier this week, by the village of Muqeibila in northern Israel, September 9, 2021. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
Upon Israel’s release of Palestinian terrorists from prison as part of the recent exchange deal with Hamas to free Israeli hostages, the PLO has continued to honor these murderers and terrorists.
One of the Palestinian Authority (PA)/PLO gestures toward the released terrorists — in addition to the generous “Pay-for-Slay” salaries they have been receiving throughout their imprisonment — is jobs. And not just ordinary jobs, but “employment in international civilian and military institutions in the service of their homeland and people,” according to the PLO itself:
Posted text: “… Emphasis was also placed on the prisoners’ full rights that are inviolable, the importance of their contribution to the reorganization of the internal situation of the [Fatah] Movement, and their employment in international civilian and military institutions in the service of their homeland and people.” [emphasis added]
[PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs, Facebook page, March 9, 2025]
Palestinian Media Watch has exposed senior PA leaders’ warm welcome of the released terrorists and the many benefits they receive, including release grants from PA leader Mahmoud Abbas.
The glorification of the released “heroes” continues. Earlier this month, PA and Fatah leaders met with released terrorists for iftar — the Ramadan fast-breaking meal — during which they stressed their “appreciation for these heroes,” gifting them with “honorary plaques”:
“Attending the meal were Fatah Central Committee member and [Fatah] Deputy Chairman Mahmoud Al-Aloul ‘Abu Jihad,’ [Fatah] Central Committee member [and former PA Prime Minister] Muhammad Shtayyeh, Nablus [District] Governor Ghassan Daghlas, and Nablus Mayor Husam Al-Shakhshir…
Speeches were delivered that emphasized the leadership’s appreciation for these heroes who sacrificed their youth and the years of their lives while defending their mighty people’s honor and freedom.
Finally, honorary plaques were granted to the heroic released prisoners of whom we are proud.
Freedom to our heroic prisoners.” [emphasis added]
[PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs – Nablus Directorate, Facebook page, March 20, 2025]
Ramallah Governor Laila Ghannam, who is a known supporter of terrorists, has been active welcoming released terrorists, and she also met with released prisoner Hatem Al-Jayousi who was serving 6 life sentences for his involvement in the murder of six people:
Posted text: “With honor and pride, I received released prisoner Hatem Al-Jayousi who embraced freedom after 22 years of imprisonment in the occupation’s [i.e., Israel’s] prisons, where he served a sentence of 6 life imprisonments.”
[Ramallah and El-Bireh District Governor Laila Ghannam, Facebook page, March 16, 2025]
The author is a senior analyst at Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article was originally published.
The post What’s New? The PLO Promises Jobs to Released Terrorists first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, an Israeli official said, reviving hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the almost 21-month war.
Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it had responded to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a “positive spirit,” a few days after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalize” a 60-day truce.
The Israeli negotiation delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, the Israeli official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.
But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement, and in their public statements Hamas and Israel remain far apart.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the terrorist group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss.
Israeli media said on Friday that Israel had received and was reviewing Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal.
The post Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Tucker Carlson Says to Air Interview with President of Iran
Tucker Carlson speaks on July 18, 2024 during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect
US conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson said in an online post on Saturday that he had conducted an interview with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which would air in the next day or two.
Carlson said the interview was conducted remotely through a translator, and would be published as soon as it was edited, which “should be in a day or two.”
Carlson said he had stuck to simple questions in the interview, such as, “What is your goal? Do you seek war with the United States? Do you seek war with Israel?”
“There are all kinds of questions that I didn’t ask the president of Iran, particularly questions to which I knew I could get an not get an honest answer, such as, ‘was your nuclear program totally disabled by the bombing campaign by the US government a week and a half ago?’” he said.
Carlson also said he had made a third request in the past several months to interview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will be visiting Washington next week for talks with US President Donald Trump.
Trump said on Friday he would discuss Iran with Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.
Trump said he believed Tehran’s nuclear program had been set back permanently by recent US strikes that followed Israel’s attacks on the country last month, although Iran could restart it at a different location.
Trump also said Iran had not agreed to inspections of its nuclear program or to give up enriching uranium. He said he would not allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program, adding that Iran did want to meet with him.
Pezeshkian said last month Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.
The post Tucker Carlson Says to Air Interview with President of Iran first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – As Israeli leaders weigh the contours of a possible partial ceasefire deal with Hamas, the families of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza issued an impassioned public statement this weekend, condemning any agreement that would return only some of the abductees.
In a powerful message released Saturday, the Families Forum for the Return of Hostages denounced what they call the “beating system” and “cruel selection process,” which, they say, has left families trapped in unbearable uncertainty for 638 days—not knowing whether to hope for reunion or prepare for mourning.
The group warned that a phased or selective deal—rumored to be under discussion—would deepen their suffering and perpetuate injustice. Among the 50 hostages, 22 are believed to be alive, and 28 are presumed dead.
“Every family deserves answers and closure,” the Forum said. “Whether it is a return to embrace or a grave to mourn over—each is sacred.”
They accused the Israeli government of allowing political considerations to prevent a full agreement that could have brought all hostages—living and fallen—home long ago. “It is forbidden to conform to the dictates of Schindler-style lists,” the statement read, invoking a painful historical parallel.
“All of the abductees could have returned for rehabilitation or burial months ago, had the government chosen to act with courage.”
The call for a comprehensive deal comes just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for high-stakes talks in Washington and as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in Doha within the next 24 hours, according to regional media reports.
Hamas, for its part, issued a statement Friday confirming its readiness to begin immediate negotiations on the implementation of a ceasefire and hostage release framework.
The Forum emphasized that every day in captivity poses a mortal risk to the living hostages, and for the deceased, a danger of being lost forever. “The horror of selection does not spare any of us,” the statement said. “Enough with the separation and categories that deepen the pain of the families.”
In a planned public address near Begin Gate in Tel Aviv, families are gathering Saturday evening to demand that the Israeli government accept a full-release deal—what they describe as the only “moral and Zionist” path forward.
“We will return. We will avenge,” the Forum concluded. “This is the time to complete the mission.”
As of now, the Israeli government has not formally responded to Hamas’s latest statement.
The post Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.