ISRAEL RELEASES SENIOR HAMAS "BARGAINING CHIP"

Israel Quietly Releases Senior Hamas 'Bargaining Chip'
(IsraelNN.com) Israel released a prominent Hamas terrorist last week, according to Hamas sources. Jamal al-Tawil, considered the leader of Hamas in the Ramallah region, was involved in a Jerusalem suicide bombing in 2001 and was elected mayor of the Ramallah-area village of Al-Bireh while still in prison.

It is unclear whether the senior terrorist's release is a "good-will gesture," part of a prisoner release to gain the freedom of IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit or simply a scheduled release. Al-Tawil's sentence had been served but he was being held in administrative detention and his name repeatedly appeared on lists exchanged between Israel and Hamas with regard to a prisoner swap for Shalit