Saudi Arabia to release more Hamas-linked prisoners after meeting with Hamas senior delegation

Following a recent high-level meeting between Saudi Arabia and a senior Hamas delegation led by its chief, Ismail Haniyeh, the Saudis are set to release Hamas-linked prisoners. The stage was set for this long ago, although few paid attention. In May 2021, during Operation Guardian of the Walls, it was Saudi Arabia that summoned the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to an emergency summit in support of the Palestinians. A barrage of rocket fire from Hamas required Israel to defend itself. The OIC then went to the United Nations to seek General Assembly support “to protect the Palestinian people.” But as usual, there was no accountability expected from the Palestinians.

In 2022, Saudi Arabia released senior Hamas official Mohammad al-Khudary from prison on health grounds. He who boarded a plane back to Jordan. Then less than three months ago, the Saudis freed two jailed Palestinians who were linked to Hamas. Izzat al-Rashq, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, said at the time: “We hope these positive steps will continue and the rest of the Palestinians [detained in Saudi Arabia] will soon be released.” Then in April, following the troubling Chinese brokered rapprochement between the Saudis and Iran, Saudi Arabia hosted the senior Hamas delegation.

Now the Saudis are “moving towards a breakthrough over the next few weeks” with a larger-scale Hamas prisoner release, after the Hamas delegation demanded their release. The Hamas delegation also “performed Umrah at the end of Ramadan.” Umrah is a Muslim pilgrimage to the Masjid al-Haram, the Great Mosque, in Mecca. Umrah, unlike the hajj, can be undertaken at any time.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ meetings with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also coincided with the Hamas’ delegation visit, although the meetings were separate.

This action by Saudi Arabia is a highly significant development, considering that Hamas is a Muslim Brotherhood (MB) offshoot. Saudi Arabia outlawed the Brotherhood as a “terrorist group” in 2014. Saudi scholars have stated that the MB does not “reflect Islamic values”; but the Muslim Brotherhood’s history and modus operandi indicate that this is really a turf war, as the Muslim Brotherhood seeks to control and/or topple existing Islamic governments.

Plans to release the Hamas prisoners have advanced to the point at which documents were signed by the Hamas prisoners “stating their consent to serve the rest of their prison sentences decided by the Saudi judiciary in their own countries.” This means that the imprisoned Hamas operatives will soon be free and ready to resume their war against the State of Israel. Iran is a main funder of Hamas, providing the jihad group with $100 million annually.