Hamas sources said Wednesday that Israel's refusal to release a number of terrorists – including Abdullah Barghouti and Ibrahim Hamad – is what is holding up the deal to exchange kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit for some 1,000 terrorists in Israeli prisons. Both are responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis.
Among other things, Barghouti designed the bombs that ripped through the Sbarro restaurant, as well as in Cafe Hillel, Cafe Moment, and the Hebrew University cafeteria, attacks that all took place at the height of the second intifada. Hamad was head of the military wing of Hamas during the intifada years. Although, the Hamas sources said, Israel has agreed to release other "heavy" prisoners, it has refused to release these two, even if Hamas agrees to send them abroad to live.