A spate of happiness, joy, and a mixture of relief swept over the land of Gaza when the families of Palestinians were freed by Israel under a recently brokered exchange deal.
As per the reports from the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office, at least 154 Palestinians were freed on Monday, and Israel freed some 250 convicted prisoners along with 1,700 detainees.
“These are citizens of Palestine. They have no other citizenship. They’re out of a small prison but sent to a bigger prison, away from their society, to new countries where they will face major restrictions. It’s inhumane,” said Tamer Qarmout, associate professor at the Doha Institute.
Kins of detainees told the media that they thought the latter would return home, but they learned that they were deported. “Today’s news was a shock, but we are still waiting. Maybe we’ll get to see him somehow. What matters is that he is released, here or abroad,” a kin of one of the detainees told media.
A warm welcome was organized by a large crowd that gathered in parts of the occupied West Bank; many of the detainees were serving long sentences.
“It’s like coming from hell to heaven,” Yasser Abu Turki told Al Jazeera. “It’s a mixture of feelings that I can’t describe—pain, joy, and strange feelings.”
“Throughout these two years, he has not received any treatment, nothing… It’s deliberate negligence by the Israeli prison administration, Hidaya Dar Ahmed, sister of one of the released prisoners, told Al Jazeera.
