Abbas ‘congratulated’ freed terrorist who killed Jews, including nine-month-old

Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas made a congratulatory phone call on Saturday to a terrorist freed by Israel as part of the ceasefire deal with Hamas, local media reported.

According to Israel's Kan News, which aired footage of the call, Abbas hailed Yasser Abu Bakr, who was sentenced to 115 years in 2004 over his role in terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of multiple Israeli civilians, including a nine-month-old child, and left many others wounded.

In the recording, the PA chief can be heard congratulating Abu Bakr on his release from prison, telling him his incarceration was "for the sake of the Palestinian nation" and suggesting that he received an excessive sentence, according to a translation by Israel's Walla outlet.

Abbas's statements prompted condemnations from Israeli lawmakers.

Jerusalem freed some 200 terrorists on Saturday as part of the second wave of releases in the first phase of the ceasefire, in exchange for four female Israel Defence Forces taken captive during the terrorist group's October 7, 2023, cross-border massacre in southern Israel.

Many of the terrorists freed on Saturday were serving life sentences for deadly attacks against Israelis.

A hundred and nine Palestinian terrorists were released back into the West Bank, 21 to the Gaza Strip, and the rest, about 70, were expelled to Egypt and are expected to leave for other countries in accordance with the terms of the agreement, which went into effect on January 19.

In Cairo, the released terrorists were welcomed by representatives of Hamas and Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad. At least some of the terrorists travelled on to Qatar, according to reports on Sunday.