Zakaria Zubeidi, a former commander of the Fatah-aligned Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in Jenin, received a hero's welcome in Ramallah on Thursday night after he was released with 109 other Palestinian prisoners as part of phase one of Israel's ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
Zubeidi is a renowned terrorist responsible for the deaths of many Israelis and multiple terrorist attacks. He briefly escaped from Gilboa Prison in 2021 before authorities recovered him after a massive manhunt.
The release of the 110 prisoners, including Zubeidi, was delayed by two hours because Israeli officials believed that the way that civilians in Gaza swarmed released hostages Gadi Moses and Arbel Yehoud during their handover could have led to a dangerous situation.
“Unlike the meticulous adherence of the Red Cross to the security prisoners’ release procedures by the IPS [Israel Prison Service], we witnessed a lynching in what happened during the hostages' release—no less. It seems that there, they are treated with less dignity, and it is no surprise that the political echelon decided to stop the buses and await a new directive," a senior official from the Israel Prison Service said.
Hamas protested the delay, which saw vans filled with prisoners return to their starting point for approximately two hours until Israel received confirmation that hostages released in the future would not be subject to the same treatment.
This person receiving a hero's welcome in Ramallah is Zakaria Zubeidi, one of 110 Palestinian terrorists released in exchange for three Israeli hostages.Zubeidi was behind dozens of terror attacks in which scores of Israelis were murdered and maimed.pic.twitter.com/XPnoDZE5ye
— Avi Mayer אבי מאיר (@AviMayer) January 30, 2025
"Israel insists that lessons will be learned and that in the next rounds, there will be extra care in ensuring the safe return of our hostages," the Prime Minister's office said in a Thursday statement.
Prime Minister Netanyahu called the mobbing "further proof of Hamas’s unimaginable cruelty."
Zubeidi in prison
The terrorists were released from Ketziot Prison in southern Israel and Ofer Prison near Ramallah. About 30 of them will be deported, while the others will be transferred to Gaza and the West Bank.
Zubeidi was serving time in Israeli prison for a myriad of offenses, including murder, attempted murder, planting of an explosive device, membership in a terror organization, discharging a firearm at people, contact with a hostile organization, offenses against (or failure to comply with) current sentencing, weapons offenses, conspiracy to commit a crime, conspiracy to murder, service to an illegal organization, and failure to pay fines.
He was first imprisoned at 14 after he threw a Molotov cocktail. Zubeidi joined Fatah during this first prison sentence.
He went on to plan multiple terror attacks, such as a bombing at a Likud branch in Beit She’an that killed six people.
He previously worked as a Palestinian police officer, a builder in Tel Aviv, and a truck driver in Jenin.
Of the 110 prisoners released today, 30 were given life sentences, 48 were given extensive jail sentences, and 30 were convicted minors.
The IPS noted that it collected improvised weapons while it worked to release the prisoners.
"During an operation conducted yesterday at Ketziot Prison, improvised weapons were found, including stabbing tools, sharp metal fragments, and a piece of razor wire," the IPS said in a statement. "Any of these objects could have seriously injured or even killed prison wardens."