1000’s of Palestinians gathered in Ramallah on Monday to await the discharge of some 2,000 political prisoners and forcibly disappeared individuals who have been taken by Israel from the West Financial institution, which it occupies, and Gaza, which it has waged warfare on for 2 years.
Palestinians welcomed again 96 political prisoners, in addition to the overwhelming majority of individuals Israel detained from Gaza in the course of the warfare.
Beneficial Tales
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This comes as a part of an change of 20 dwelling and 28 deceased Israeli captives held in Gaza for the almost 2,000 Palestinian captives.
Of the greater than 200 Israeli captives taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023, a complete of 114 have been launched throughout two captive swaps with Hamas in November 2023 and January 2025, respectively.
They have been handed over in change for the liberty of a complete of 1,240 Palestinians.
Regardless of the temporary euphoria, Israel violated ceasefires that coincided with these captive releases, arresting Palestinians throughout Gaza and the occupied territory wholesale, often with out cost.
Right here’s all you want to know concerning the Palestinians anticipated to be launched as a part of the ceasefire deal, in addition to those that weren’t included within the deal and who will keep in captivity.
Who’s being launched?
A complete of 250 Palestinian political prisoners who’re both serving life sentences or lengthy sentences are being launched from Israeli jails.
Based on knowledge obtained by Al Jazeera, all however 9 of those prisoners are from the West Financial institution, and 157 of them are members of Fatah, the celebration that controls the Palestinian Authority governing components of the West Financial institution.
Sixty-five are from Hamas, and the remaining are from smaller political factions.
As well as, Israel will free 1,718 Palestinians who have been, in keeping with the United Nations, forcefully disappeared by Israel during the last two years of its genocidal warfare on Gaza.
5 of them are kids beneath the age of 18, and two are girls, in keeping with the prisoner record obtained by Al Jazeera.
Many of the disappeared from Gaza have been held in army camps, the place dehumanisation and torture have been rampant, in keeping with worldwide and Israeli and Palestinian human rights teams.
Palestinians have been reportedly subjected to extreme beatings, medical neglect, hunger and even rape.
Based on the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, 77 prisoners have died in Israeli custody since October 7.
What number of Palestinians is Israel not releasing?
1000’s.
Based on Addameer, a Palestinian human rights organisation monitoring political prisoners, the variety of individuals taken captive by Israel elevated from 5,200 to 11,100 since October 7, 2023.
The overwhelming majority of those prisoners are from the occupied West Financial institution – 400 of them kids.
Murad Jadallah, a human rights researcher with Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq, instructed Al Jazeera: “Israel tries to destroy Palestinian society in numerous methods, and arresting kids is without doubt one of the instruments it makes use of to take action.”
As soon as a Palestinian captive is launched, that’s it, proper?
No.
Israel tends to re-arrest Palestinians shortly after they’re freed in captive swaps, mentioned Tahani Mustafa, an professional on Israel-Palestine with the European Council on Overseas Relations (ECFR).
In November 2023, Israel launched 240 Palestinian prisoners in a swap for Israeli captives held by Hamas in Gaza as a part of a short lived ceasefire deal.
Weeks later, Israel re-arrested 30 of these individuals.
“Israel has an extended historical past of utilizing incarceration and arrests as a political weapon, and generally that might be for bargaining functions for a later date,” Mustafa instructed Al Jazeera.
“There’s additionally no assure [with this current deal] that these being launched received’t be rearrested once more,” she added.
Will all of those Palestinian detainees have the ability to go residence in the present day?
Most of them have already been launched.
Whereas 96 of the 250 high-level political prisoners are being launched to the West Financial institution and Gaza, about 154 of them are being deported from Palestine to 3rd nations that haven’t been introduced but.
Based on WAFA, the 154 have been taken to Egypt, however that won’t be the ultimate vacation spot for all of them.
Israel might resolve to not launch everybody till it additionally retrieves the our bodies of 28 deceased Israeli captives, that are anticipated over the subsequent 72 hours.
Hamas mentioned that it might wrestle to find all of the deceased captives in that timeframe, however that the group is actively trying to find them.
1000’s of individuals gathered in Khan Younis, Gaza, to welcome Palestinians – principally civilians, together with medics – who have been disappeared by Israel.
There should be 1000’s of blissful households in the present day?
Nicely, sure, however they’ve been threatened to not present it.
Households are ordered by Israel to not rejoice the discharge of their family members or increase Palestinian flags within the occupied West Financial institution and occupied East Jerusalem.
And the households of prisoners who’re being exiled in the present day will probably be prevented from travelling overseas to fulfill them of their nation of exile.
Jadallah, from Al-Haq, added that the majority Palestinians merely hope the captive swap represents a everlasting finish to Israel’s genocidal warfare on Gaza.
He added that Palestinians are sad that distinguished Palestinian leaders equivalent to Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed Saadat won’t be launched.
The previous is arguably probably the most well-known Palestinian political prisoner, historically aligned with Fatah, and the latter leads the Widespread Entrance for the Liberation of Palestine.
Famend Palestinian physician Hussam Abu Safia, who was kidnapped from Kamel Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza in December 2024, was not among the many record of prisoners anticipated to be launched.
Abu Safia has been subjected to extreme torture and solitary confinement, in keeping with human rights displays.
