As part of the “ceasefire deal,” Israel is releasing 183 security prisoners from Israeli prisons in exchange for three hostages held by Hamas. The prisoners are being released wearing identification bracelets with a Biblical warning, paper bracelets inscribed with a verse penned by King David:
I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. Psalms 18:38
The verse was written in Arabic so the prisoners would understand the import. Perhaps as significant is the following verse, which reads:
I stuck them down and they could rise no more, they lay fallen at my feet.
The left-wing, anti-Israel news service Haaretz criticized the bracelets.
“Red Cross personnel expressed outrage over the way the Israel Prison Service led the prisoners out of Ketziot on Saturday morning,” Haaretz wrote. “Handcuffed with their hands above their heads, wearing a bracelet inscribed with the phrase, ‘the eternal people never forget.’”
The words, “The eternal nation never forgets,” did appear on the bracelets but are not from the Bible.
The Israeli Prison Service defended its actions, stating, “Prison guards are dealing with the worst of Israel’s enemies, and until their very last moment on Israeli soil, they will be handled under prison governance. We will not compromise on the security of our people.”
The sting of wearing the verse must have been reduced somewhat by the prize awaiting the prisoners. Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) reported that, in total, the 734 terrorists received at least $141,837,087 from the Palestinian Martyrs’ Fund, paid out by the Palestinian Authority.
Israel freed 183 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, shortly after the terror group in the Gaza Strip released three Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7.
According to Palestinian authorities, 18 of the prisoners were serving life sentences. Over 100 were from the Gaza Strip, arrested after October 7, 2023, and were being held without trial.
Thirty prisoners, including three serving life sentences, were released for each of the hostages Keith Siegel and Ofer Kalderon, and 12 prisoners serving life sentences were released for Yarden Bibas.
In addition to the specified number of Palestinian prisoners to be freed per released hostage, Israel has also agreed to release over 1,000 Gazan detainees over the course of the agreement’s implementation.
On Saturday, Israel freed 111 detainees who were detained by troops in the Gaza Strip but were not involved in the October 7 onslaught.
Of the 183 released in total, 150 were sent back to or deported to the Gaza Strip, 32 were released to the West Bank, and one was sent to Egypt.
