Bereaved families held a protest rally outside the Ofer Prison on Monday night (Photo credit: Yonatan Sindel)

The government’s decision to release Palestinian prisoners, many of whom are considered “heavyweight terrorists,” has met scathing criticism from terror victims’ families.

The Almagor Terror Victims Association plans to petition the High Court of Justice on Tuesday in the hope that the court will order the government to suspend the prisoners’ release. The petition’s chances, however, are slim, as the High Court traditionally refrains from interfering with government decisions of this nature.

Monday saw members of the bereaved families hold a protest rally outside the Ofer Prison, to which the Palestinian prisoners included in the second-phase release have been transferred. Over 4,500 people attended the rally, which was organized by Almagor, joining hands and creating a human chain that surrounded much of the prison’s exterior compound.

Some protesters carried signs reading “Jewish blood is not cheap” and “Stop the prisoners’ release.” Others were carrying photos of loved ones killed in terror attacks.

Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel (Habayit Hayehudi), who attended the rally, was booed when he tried to address the crowd. After the heckling subsided, he told the families that he supported their fight.

“It is time to stop the release of terrorists. This is not Jewish ethics,” he said.

“A red line has been crossed here today,” Gila Molcho, whose brother, attorney Ian Feinberg, was murdered in Gaza in 1993, told the protesters. One of Feinberg’s killers was released as part of the Schalit deal and another is slated to be released on Tuesday night. “My brother believed in justice. He believed in people. This is a terrible injustice. How can families be trampled over like this? We are not a ‘gesture’—it’s time for the prime minister to wake up.”

“The fact that I oppose this move is insignificant,” Rivka Rotenberg, whose husband Isaac was murdered by two Palestinian terrorists 19 years ago, told Israel Hayom. “There’s nothing we can do. They should have killed them, not jailed them for 20 years only to let them go.”

Orna Amrani, whose brother, Israel Defense Forces soldier Akiva Shaltiel, was abducted and murdered in 1985, said: “They asked us what we thought [about the release] and my brother’s image immediately came to mind … I woke up this morning with a very heavy heart. We feel like we have been betrayed by the state. As far as I’m concerned, it’s like my brother was murdered a second time.”

On Monday, after receiving the final list of prisoners slated to be released, the Israel Prison Service’s Nachshon Prisoner Transports Unit transferred the 26 prisoners in question to Ofer Prison, where they underwent the routine identification verification and medical examination process.

The prisoners also signed a legal document stipulating that they would abandon all terror-related activities as a condition of their release. They are scheduled to leave the prison late Tuesday night under heavy guard, as 21 of them will be shuttled to the Bitunia checkpoint and will return to the West Bank, while the remaining five will return to the Gaza Strip via the Erez crossing.

Palestinian Prisoner Affairs Minister Issa Qaraqe said the prisoner release was giving people hope.

“I think that releasing prisoners deepens the peace process, and gives it credibility and also gives hope that all Palestinian prisoners could be released,” Qaraqe said.

Families of Palestinian prisoners set to be released were preparing Monday for homecoming celebrations.

The prisoners returning to the West Bank will be met with an official reception at the Mukataa in Ramallah, where Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to greet them personally.

In Gaza, meanwhile, Hamas is said to be downplaying the release, and no official celebrations are planned.