Relief and sadness for Palestinian prisoners freed in Gaza hostage deal
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Palestinian Marah Bkeer (centre) was jailed in Israel for eight years on knife and assault charges.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BEITUNIA, West Bank – For the families of Palestinian detainees freed by Israel
Thirty-nine Palestinian women and minors detained on various charges were freed under an accord brokered by Qatar that also saw the release of 13 Israeli hostages seized by Hamas gunmen during their assault on Israel on Oct 7.
“There is no real joy, even this little joy we feel as we wait,” said Ms Sawsan Bkeer, the mother of 24-year-old Palestinian prisoner Marah Bkeer, jailed for eight years on knife and assault charges in 2015. Israeli police were seen raiding her Jerusalem home before her daughter was released.
“We are still afraid to feel happy and, at the same time, we do not have it in us to be happy due to what is happening in Gaza,” she said.
More than 100 Palestinian prisoners are due to be released over the coming four days
Freed Palestinian prisoners on board a bus driven by a Red Cross employee following their release from Israeli jails.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
In Beitunia, a city near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, a large crowd, mostly of young men, greeted freed prisoners by cheering, honking car horns and marching in the street carrying Palestinian flags.
Some in the crowd also carried the flag of Hamas that rules blockaded Gaza and chanted in support of Mr Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson of the group’s armed wing.
“I can’t express how I feel. Thank God,” said 17-year-old Laith Othman, who was detained earlier in 2023 on suspicion of throwing an incendiary device and released on Nov 24.
“The situation inside (prison) is very difficult,” he said as he was carried along the street on someone’s shoulders.
Israeli commanders have vowed to free all the hostages as they prepare to pursue the campaign in Gaza launched in the wake of the Hamas attack, in which 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed, according to Israeli tallies.
Around 14,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza and the ground operation launched in October, and the military says it is preparing for the next stage of the operation once the truce ends.
Mr Ismail Shaheen, speaking from the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem, said he was waiting to see his daughter Fatima, who was arrested earlier in 2023, accused of an attempted stabbing.
The 32-year-old computer scientist, who has a five-year-old daughter, was shot during her arrest. Mr Shaheen said he was surprised to see his daughter in a wheelchair when he was first allowed to visit her in prison, months after she was detained.
“Thank God she was released in this exchange deal,” he said. “We were happy that she was going to be released but only slightly so, because we cannot ignore the dire conditions of our brothers in Gaza, where thousands have been killed.” REUTERS
