Al-Zubaidi was among 110 detainees released on Thursday as part of the Hamas-Israel swap deal [Issam Rimawi/Anadolu via Getty]
Freed Palestinian detainee Zakaria Al-Zubaidi said it was time for Israel’s occupation of the West Bank to end so Palestinians could have a state of their own, while declining to comment on his time in Israeli detention.
Al-Zubaidi, a commander of Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades who spent many years of his life in and out of Israeli prisons, called for all remaining Palestinian detainees to be released, after he was freed as part of the Gaza ceasefire and captive exchange deal.
The renowned resistance fighter was among 110 detainees released on Thursday in return for two Israeli and five Thai captives who had been held by Hamas in Gaza.
A truce has held in the Palestinian enclave since 19 January after 15 months of Israel’s ruthless offensive which killed more than 47,000 people.
Speaking to journalists and people who had gone to congratulate him in the occupied West Bank town of Al-Bireh on Friday, Al-Zubaidi said he entered prison for the sake of the Palestinian people, but his freedom remained incomplete if the Palestinians do not gain their independence.
After many sacrifices, he said, it was time to establish a sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
“If there is no national unity, we will not be able to obtain our freedom,” said the member of Fatah, which heads the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and is a long-time rival of Hamas that controls Gaza.
Dire conditions for prisoners
Al-Zubaidi, whose mother, brothers and son were killed by Israel, was one of the five Palestinian prisoners who broke out of the Gilboa prison in September 2021, an operation that left Israel stunned, before they were caught again days later.
When asked by The New Arab’s sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, on what he was exposed to in prison, Al-Zubaidi limited his response to saying the conditions were “very bad” without elaborating.
“The [Israeli] occupation takes revenge on all the Palestinian people,” he said, adding, “We ask God to be kind to our people in the Gaza Strip, and return them to their homes safe and sound, and to have mercy on Jenin camp and the West Bank, as all our Palestinian people are under attack.”
Israel has carried out a violent military operation in Jenin camp since last month that has killed and wounded dozens of Palestinians.
The camp, where Al-Zubaidi was born, has long been subject to brutal raids by the Israeli army.
Despite not talking about his own experience, Al-Zubaidi spoke generally about the situation of Palestinian prisoners, saying they are subjected to the “most brutal attacks by prison guards.”
“The situation is very, very bad, and we hope that everyone monitoring issues on freedom and humanity will pay attention to our prisoners, because the situation is very difficult in every sense of the word,” he said.
“Small portions of food, poor cell conditions, no reading, no communication, no television, and no news. They are isolated from the outside world.”
‘Give us back our freedom’
Refusing to address Israel, Al-Zubaidi sent a message to the international community.
“The world that gave this occupation the right to my land must give me my freedom. My life without freedom has no meaning, and those who took away mine and my children’s freedom must give it back,” he said, particularly naming Israel allies Britain, France and the US.
“They must think about [their] mistake…and reverse their mistake against me and against my children.”
Despite publicly proclaiming support for a two-state solution, the three countries have provided Israel unwavering support, either diplomatically or through military aid, particularly the US.
Israel’s current hardline government has completely refused Palestinian statehood, as it continues to expand its illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, two areas many Palestinians want to see as part of a potential future state of theirs, as well as the war-torn Gaza Strip.
Saudi Arabia, which the US has for years tried to get on board a normalisation deal with Israel, has said it will only accept an agreement once the Palestinians are granted statehood.
