"Dean" of Palestinian prisoners Mohammad al-Tous: October 7th was a mistake

Mohammad al-Tous, the oldest Palestinian terrorist released thus far, known as the "dean" of Palestinian prisoners, surprised his interviewer on Arab media yesterday (Saturday) when he criticized the decision to launch the October 7 attack, according to Ynet.

Al-Tous, a member of Fatah and one of the first to help launch a series of shooting attacks in the Jerusalem and Bethlehem areas, served 40 years in Israeli prison and is now being expelled to Egypt.

In his interview, al-Tous said that "if I had known the price of my freedom, I would have stayed in prison. We will not accept that the price of our release from prison would be one drop of blood from a Palestinian child. Every leader, whether Palestinian or non-Palestinian, when thinking about carrying out a major attack must know what price he wants to pay in exchange for achieving the goal he wants to reach."

"I advise my grandchildren today not to follow the path of attacks and resistance," he said yesterday in an interview with the Saudi Al-Arabiya network, "We don't want our freedom to come at the expense of our children's lives."

Hundreds of Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel have been or will be released as part of the first phase of the hostage deal, some of them serving life sentences due to successfully murdering or planning and executing the murder of Israelis.

Among these are the murderer of the family of Eitan and Naama Henkin and Zakaria Zubeidi, the notorious Jenin terrorist who evaded capture or elimination during the entire second Intifada.

Israeli society remains torn on the question of the deal, with most supporting at least the current phase of the hostage deal but many fearing that the release of so many hardened terrorists into Judea and Samaria and into the Gaza Strip will give Hamas and other groups a much-needed infusion of strength.