I have to correct a common misconception first. Because Palestine is not a recognized state by the UN, the occupier doesn't take POWs but simply prisoners. It gets more confusing because the settlements in the West Bank are considered to be occupation (and thus occupation law kicks in, as well as in Gaza) but Palestinians living in 'Israel' are considered to be citizens there.
One way in which POW status could trigger is if 'Israel' captures a resistance fighter. There are provisions in international law for resistance to receive POW status, but 'Israel' has shown they don't care anyway, and proudly humiliate and torture anyone they claim is Hamas on camera.
Because of this the law works differently for them. They are tried by a military tribunal, and are often held indefinitely without charges. Often, the occupation kidnaps people they can get access to so that their family member, which is the person they really want to arrest, will surrender.
In other words, a more accurate term for imprisoned Palestinians would indeed be hostages and kidnap victims, which is exactly what 'Israel' is telling us happened to their POWs!
Generally, Hamas and the resistance in Gaza work to free any and all Palestinians and not just Gazans in any exchange deal. This is necessary for them as exchanges are not conducted based on names but based on criteria (such as age, sex, or duration of imprisonment). It also builds support in the West Bank. Where it gets difficult is that Palestinians released to their homes in the West Bank often get kidnapped a few days after their release.
In this proposed deal, there is no plan made for the release of kidnapped/imprisoned Palestinians -- when the White House says 'hostages', they mean solely the POWs that were captured on October 7. Otherwise, they would have mentioned Palestinian prisoners. However this plan is only a very tentative first entry and will likely be further discussed. Incidentally, now that a few days have passed, we see that the occupation government is slowly opening up to it, although it's causing some internal crisis in government. But I believe this crisis (several ministers have said they would leave the government) shows that they are worried this deal may be accepted. If it was to be completely rejected, they would stay silent.
Do Palestinians get their POW back?
I have to correct a common misconception first. Because Palestine is not a recognized state by the UN, the occupier doesn't take POWs but simply prisoners. It gets more confusing because the settlements in the West Bank are considered to be occupation (and thus occupation law kicks in, as well as in Gaza) but Palestinians living in 'Israel' are considered to be citizens there.
One way in which POW status could trigger is if 'Israel' captures a resistance fighter. There are provisions in international law for resistance to receive POW status, but 'Israel' has shown they don't care anyway, and proudly humiliate and torture anyone they claim is Hamas on camera.
Because of this the law works differently for them. They are tried by a military tribunal, and are often held indefinitely without charges. Often, the occupation kidnaps people they can get access to so that their family member, which is the person they really want to arrest, will surrender.
In other words, a more accurate term for imprisoned Palestinians would indeed be hostages and kidnap victims, which is exactly what 'Israel' is telling us happened to their POWs!
Generally, Hamas and the resistance in Gaza work to free any and all Palestinians and not just Gazans in any exchange deal. This is necessary for them as exchanges are not conducted based on names but based on criteria (such as age, sex, or duration of imprisonment). It also builds support in the West Bank. Where it gets difficult is that Palestinians released to their homes in the West Bank often get kidnapped a few days after their release.
In this proposed deal, there is no plan made for the release of kidnapped/imprisoned Palestinians -- when the White House says 'hostages', they mean solely the POWs that were captured on October 7. Otherwise, they would have mentioned Palestinian prisoners. However this plan is only a very tentative first entry and will likely be further discussed. Incidentally, now that a few days have passed, we see that the occupation government is slowly opening up to it, although it's causing some internal crisis in government. But I believe this crisis (several ministers have said they would leave the government) shows that they are worried this deal may be accepted. If it was to be completely rejected, they would stay silent.