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Short answer
Palestinian prisoners are criminals, guilty of acts of terrorism like stabbing Israelis or trying to blow them up and actively calling for the extermination of Jews. Israeli hostages are either innocent civilians or soldiers defending Israel’s borders.
Long answer
On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel and kidnapped hundreds of people, including over 230 Israelis and other foreign nationals. During a temporary ceasefire agreement in November 2023 to return hostages, Israel released over 100 Palestinian prisoners. Make no mistake—the Palestinian prisoners that Israel exchanged are criminals. They are guilty of acts of terrorism like stabbing Israelis or trying to blow them up and actively calling for the extermination of Jews. Israeli hostages are either innocent civilians or soldiers defending Israel’s borders. Palestinians in Gaza are taught from a young age that dying a martyr while killing Jews is a great honor. Hamas and other terrorist groups both in Gaza and Judea and Samaria incentivize terrorists to carry out horrific attacks against Israelis. Hamas even promised to give terrorists $10,000 and an apartment for every hostage they kidnapped from Israel to Gaza on October 7. There is no equivalence between the innocent people that Hamas kidnapped and the Palestinian prisoners that Israel released in order to bring hostages home.
