Israel refuses to release terror mastermind in hostage talks

Israel is refusing Hamas demands to release a high-profile terror mastermind in exchange for hostages, according to reports.

Hamas terrorists have demanded the release of Marwan Barghouti, the former leader of the late Yasser Arafat’s Fatah party, since August, presumably to help the group maintain power in the Gaza strip, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Barghouti is serving five life sentences for his role in the murder of five Israelis in 2000 during the second Palestinian intifada, which raged until 2005.

He was also a leader in the first Intifada, from 1987-1993.

While Israel at one point considered releasing Barghouti, it is now objecting to granting him and other Palestinian prisoners their freedom, the Jerusalem Post reported.

“Israel has a vision of alternative lists of Palestinian prisoners, including people who were recently arrested,” reports quoted the source as saying.

Israel has also requested that some Palestinian prisoners be sent abroad instead of to the West Bank or Gaza, “which may be accepted by the mediators as a compromise to end this new obstacle,” the official said.

Talks continued in Cairo Saturday between Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, el-Sissi’s office said.

Sullivan on Thursday said Israel has “negotiated hard to defend and justify its position in this negotiation.” Hamas, however, “has been deeply intransigent,” the Times of Israel reported.

Separately, President-elect Donald Trump’s designated Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week, the first time a member of the incoming administration has met with the Saudi Arabian leader since the election.

Trump aims to seal a “mega-deal” with Saudi Arabia, including a historic peace agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia and progress toward ending the Israel-Hamas war, Axios reported.

“I want a long lasting peace,” Trump told Time magazine in his Person of the Year interview this week.

“I’m not saying that’s a very likely scenario,” Trump added.

“I want a peace where we don’t have an October 7 in another three years.”

Under pressure from Trump, Hamas has agreed to two key concessions: Allowing Israeli forces to stay in the Gaza Strip temporarily after fighting ends and finally providing a complete list of hostages, including Americans, who will be released, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Yet rockets continued to be fired at Israel in the early morning hours Saturday, this time from nearby humanitarian aid warehouses in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said on X.

Israeli fighter jets launched airstrikes there, targeting weapons depots and terror operatives, the IDF added.

Israel also blasted a drone at a vehicle in southern Lebanon, killing a Hezbollah operative, according to reports.