RAMALLAH, West Financial institution (AP) — Israel launched 110 Palestinian prisoners on Thursday in alternate for 3 Israeli hostages held in Gaza. 5 Thai staff held captive within the enclave have been additionally freed in a separate care for Thailand. Thursday’s prisoner-for-hostage change marked the 3rd spherical of exchanges as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas entered its 2nd week.Lots of the prisoners stepped off the Pink Pass bus and onto the shoulders of jubilant supporters within the occupied West Financial institution, the place U.N. information presentations that one in 5 Palestinians has handed via Israeli prison and the discharge of prisoners is a supply of joyous nationwide party — a homecoming through which nearly all Palestinians felt they might partake.However 23 of them serving lifestyles sentences for extra severe crimes have been transferred to Egypt ahead of additional deportation.
The prisoners launched Thursday have been all males, ranging in age from 15 to 69.Right here’s a have a look at some distinguished Palestinian prisoners launched for the reason that ceasefire deal went into impact on Jan. 19.
Zakaria ZubeidiZakaria Zubeidi is a distinguished former militant chief and theater director whose dramatic jailbreak in 2021 overjoyed Palestinians around the Heart East and surprised the Israeli safety established order.Zubeidi as soon as led the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade — an armed staff affiliated with Fatah, the secular political birthday party that controls the Palestinian Authority — that performed fatal assaults in opposition to Israelis all over the second one intifada, or Palestinian rebellion, between 2000 and 2005.After the intifada in 2006, Zubeidi co-founded a theater in his homeland of Jenin refugee camp, a hotbed of Palestinian militancy, to advertise what he described as cultural resistance to Israel. Even nowadays, the Freedom Theater in Jenin refugee camp places on the whole lot from Shakespeare to stand-up comedy to performs written by way of citizens.In 2019, after Zubeidi had already served years in jail for assaults within the early 2000s, Israel arrested him once more over his alleged involvement in taking pictures assaults that focused buses of Israeli settlers however brought about no accidents.
Zubeidi, who used to be launched Thursday, have been looking ahead to trial in jail. He denies the costs, announcing that he gave up militancy to concentrate on his political activism after the intifada.In 2021, he and 5 different prisoners tunneled out of a maximum-security jail in northern Israel, an get away that helped solidify Zubeidi’s symbol amongst Palestinians as a people hero. All six have been recaptured days later.In a room filled with members of the family and supporters smiling, guffawing, and jostling for a view of him, Zubeidi shouted to be heard over the push and expressed thank you for God and his family members. He looked for phrases as journalists thrust microphones towards him, providing Islamic prayers to these wounded and killed in Gaza.Relatively than spark off to Jenin camp after being freed, he stayed in Ramallah on Thursday evening. Israel introduced an in depth army raid previous this month within the Jenin camp that up to now has killed a minimum of 18 Palestinians and despatched ratings of households fleeing.
“Would possibly God grant victory to our brothers within the Jenin camp,” Zubeidi mentioned. His son, Mohammed, used to be killed in an Israeli drone strike final September within the camp. Palestinian medics, who’ve raised issues in regards to the stipulations of detainees rising from Israeli detention, mentioned Zubeidi seemed vulnerable and malnourished. Dr. Mai Al-Kaileh, who tested him, mentioned his ribs have been shattered and he had misplaced a startling quantity of weight.“His situation may be very tough,” she mentioned. “It’s no longer excellent.” Mohammed Abu WardaA Hamas militant all over the second one intifada, Abu Warda helped arrange a chain of suicide bombings that killed over 40 folks and wounded greater than 100 others. Israel arrested him in 2002, and sentenced him to 48 phrases of lifetime imprisonment, a few of the longest sentences it ever issued. As a tender pupil, Abu Warda joined Hamas firstly of the intifada following Israel’s killing of Yahya Ayyash, the militant staff’s main bomb maker, in 1996. Palestinian government mentioned on the time that Warda had helped to recruit suicide bombers — together with his cousin, his cousin’s neighbor and a classmate on the Ramallah Academics Faculty — whose assaults focused on crowded civilian spaces in Israeli towns killed ratings of folks within the early 2000s. Warda used to be launched on Thursday.
Mohammed Aradeh, 42An activist in Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Aradeh, used to be sentenced to lifestyles in jail for a variety of offenses going again to the second one intifada. Probably the most fees, in keeping with the Israeli Jail Provider, incorporated planting an explosive tool and making an attempt homicide.He used to be credited with plotting the bizarre jail get away in 2021, when he and 5 different detainees, together with Zubeidi, used spoons to tunnel out certainly one of Israel’s maximum safe prisons. They remained at huge for days ahead of being stuck.From an impoverished and politically energetic circle of relatives in Jenin, within the northern occupied West Financial institution, Aradeh has 3 brothers and a sister who’ve all spent years in Israeli prisons.He used to be welcomed as a form of cult hero in Ramallah on Saturday as circle of relatives, buddies and enthusiasts swarmed him, some chanting “The liberty tunnel!” in connection with his jailbreak. When requested how he felt, Aradeh used to be breathless. Time and again he muttered, “Thank God, thank God.”Mohammed Odeh, 52, Wael Qassim, 54, and Wissam Abbasi, 48All 3 males hail from the community of Silwan, in east Jerusalem, and rose throughout the ranks of Hamas. Held answerable for a string of fatal assaults all over the second one intifada, the lads have been sentenced to more than one lifestyles sentences in 2002. They have been accused of plotting a suicide bombing at a crowded pool corridor close to Tel Aviv in 2002 that killed 15 folks. Later that yr, they have been discovered to have orchestrated a bombing at Hebrew College that killed 9 folks, together with 5 American scholars. Israel had described Odeh, who used to be running as a painter on the college on the time, because the kingpin within the assault.All 3 have been transferred to Egypt final Saturday. Their households reside in Jerusalem and mentioned they are going to sign up for them in exile.The Abu Hamid brothers 3 brothers from the distinguished Abu Hamid circle of relatives of the Al-Amari refugee camp in Ramallah — Nasser, 51, Mohammad, 44, and Sharif, 48 — have been additionally deported to Egypt final Saturday. That they had been sentenced to lifestyles in jail over fatal militant assaults in opposition to Israelis in 2002. Their brother, a special Nasser Abu Hamid, used to be one of the most founders of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade. He used to be additionally sentenced to lifestyles in jail for a number of fatal assaults. His 2022 loss of life from lung most cancers in the back of bars unleashed a wave of offended protests around the West Financial institution as Palestinian officers accused Israel of clinical forget.The circle of relatives has an extended arc of Palestinian militancy. The mum, Latifa Abu Hamid, 72, now has 3 sons exiled, one nonetheless imprisoned, one that died in jail and one that used to be killed by way of Israeli forces. Their circle of relatives space has been demolished a minimum of thrice by way of Israel, which defends such punitive house demolitions as a deterrent in opposition to long term assaults.Mohammad al-Tous, 67Al-Tous had held the identify of longest steady Israeli imprisonment till his unencumber final Saturday, Palestinian government mentioned. First arrested in 1985 whilst preventing Israeli forces alongside the Jordanian border, the activist within the Fatah birthday party spent a complete of 39 years in the back of bars. At the start from the West Financial institution town of Bethlehem, he used to be a few of the prisoners exiled.