This latest batch of released of 200 Palestinian prisoners was that it included individuals whom Israel had issued life imprisonment or severe sentences of up to 40 years. [Getty]
Mohamed Zayed doesn’t stop hugging his son Abdullah, as he still cannot believe that he sees him in front of him, after Israel deprived any visits for twenty years.
Muhammad was one of the Palestinian prisoners released by Israel in a ceasefire deal, after Hamas released four female soldiers last Sunday.
What distinguished this latest batch of released of 200 Palestinian prisoners was that it included individuals whom Israel had issued life imprisonment or severe sentences of up to 40 years, including 83 prisoners who had already spent more than 20 years in Israeli prisons.
More Palestinians are supposed to be released by Israel in the coming weeks as part of what was agreed upon in the first phase of the truce, which should last more than 40 days.
A whole lifetime
Zayed, from Beit Leqya village near Ramallah, was arrested four months after his wedding in 2004, while his wife was pregnant. Israel sentenced him to life imprisonment four times, equivalent to 396 years.
During his years of imprisonment, his wife raised his only son, Abdullah, and when he was released a few days ago, he found him a university student in the College of Engineering and hugged him for the first time in his life in a very touching scene that circulated widely on social media platforms.
“I returned to my family and my home, from which I was arrested. I cannot believe that I am finally among them, and I feel every moment that I am dreaming. My only son was born and grew up far from me, so I still search for him all the time among those present and hug him. I’m not satisfied with seeing him yet,” Zayed said to The New Arab.
In the last days before his release, Muhammad and the rest of the Palestinian prisoners were subjected to violent abuses by the Israeli prison administration, which included beatings, insults, and starvation.
In the Shalit deal that took place in 2011, Muhammad’s name wasn’t included for release. He felt sad but happy for his friends’ freedom from Israel’s prison.
“I was looking at them getting out of prison and I wished I could be with them, but now I got out and forgot the past years as soon as I saw my family and my home,” he added.
Muhammad kept pictures of his son during his detention so that he could feel that he was in touch with him despite the distance, but a year and a half ago, the Israeli oppressive forces stormed the prisoners’ rooms and confiscated all their contents, including these memories that meant their entire life.
Islam Dar Musa impatiently awaited the freedom of his elderly father, Saleh, 61, who was arrested in 2003 and sentenced by Israeli authorities to life imprisonment 17 times, the equivalent of 1,683 years.
Islam was Saleh’s eldest son among six children, and after his father’s arrest, he became the one responsible for the house even though he was only 12 years old.
“Everything was difficult in the absence of my father. Israel demolished our house as a punishment, and my siblings were young and needed full care. I was trying to help my mother as much as I could so as not to increase her grief over his absence,” he told TNA.
In 2018, Saleh’s wife died, and Islam felt deep sadness, but he continued to wait for the freedom of his father, who also lost his parents during his years of detention.
When Saleh’s name was included in this deal, his sons breathed a sigh of relief, but Israel decided to deport him to another country and hasn’t yet allowed his sons to travel.
“We tried to travel via the Jordan Bridge, but we were insulted and prevented from leaving the occupied West Bank. We are very eager to meet my father and hope that we will be able to do so soon.”
Deep wounds
Among those released were dozens of prisoners against whom Israel issued severe sentences, but this current ceasefire deal was a lifeline for them.
Azmi Naffa was arrested in 2015 after being shot in the face by the Israeli army. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of trying to run over illegal Israeli settlers near Nablus.
“The treatment was difficult and harsh,” he said to TNA. He was tied to the bed and subjected to interrogation throughout his stay in the hospital, then he was transferred to the cells before he recovered.
“It was tough years and I still need treatment, but I will be among my family now, not tied or subject to investigators’ questions and insults,” he added.
His father remarked to TNA that he had hoped throughout the years of Azmi’s detention that he wouldn’t serve all the years of his sentence and that he would come out with an exchange deal, and his wish came true.
After the release of nearly 100 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, more than 400 prisoners remain, to whom Israel has issued life sentences and absolutely refuses to release a number of prominent names.
However, Hamas is betting on that the captured Israeli officers and soldiers it holds will force Israel‘s hand.
There are some though who wonder if the costs of their release, which amounted to an Israeli genocide on Gaza, was worth it.Â
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