In recent weeks, a series of prisoner swaps has unfolded between Palestinian resistance groups and Israel, stemming from the Jan. 19 ceasefire deal. While the media spotlight has primarily centered on the zionist captives, those held by Palestinian resistance are most accurately described as prisoners of war, not hostages. In stark contrast, over 9,000 Palestinians remain incarcerated in Zionist prisons, including many elders and minors.
Since the ceasefire, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners have been released from Zionist prisons. This is a major victory for the resistance and all the families who can finally welcome their loved ones home.
High-profile leader released
Several newly released Palestinian prisoners were high-profile leaders in the various resistance groups. This includes Khalida Jarrar, a 62-year-old woman and leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The Zionists held Jarrar in solitary confinement for six months under “administrative detention” — a legal mechanism that allows them to hold any Palestinian indefinitely without charge or trial. Jarrar was freed along with 69 other women and 21 teenage boys, some as young as 12.
After six years in a maximum security prison, Al Aqsa Martyrs’ commander Zakaria Zubeidi was finally released as part of the ceasefire exchanges. Zubeidi was a crucial figure in the Second Intifada and was set to serve a life sentence before his release.
Mohammed Abu Warda, a Hamas commander active in the Second Intifada, was serving 48 terms of lifetime imprisonment before his release. Prominent Fatah political activist Mohammed al-Tous was also released after 39 years in a Zionist prison.
However, it is not only prominent fighters or political leaders who are finally free from Zionist detention. The vast majority of those held in Zionist prisons are everyday people detained solely because they are Palestinian.
For example, Ali Nazzal from Qalqilya finally returned home after 17 years to meet his teenage son for the first time. That’s right. Ali had been in a Zionist prison for so long that he had never met his son. However, due to the Palestinian people’s steadfast resistance, Ali is now reunited with his family.
Another prisoner who will see the light of freedom after 20 years in a Zionist prison is Palestinian scholar Hussam Shahin. While incarcerated, Shahin wrote two novels about the occupation. Upon his release, he was immediately transferred to a hospital for emergency care as the Zionist occupiers had performed surgery on him without anesthesia while in jail. Shahin is currently resting in a local hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
Harsh conditions in Zionist prisons
It should be noted that the released Palestinian prisoners nearly universally described the horrific conditions they experienced in various Zionist prisons and detention centers — reports of starvation, torture, and psychological abuse were common.
This stands in stark contrast to the accounts of the Zionist captives held by Hamas, who described being treated with respect and kindness.
The return of the Palestinian prisoners has justifiably filled the people of Gaza with pride and joy. This has been on full display in recent weeks as resistance groups and Palestinian police have marched through the streets of Gaza City alongside the newly released prisoners.
This pride did not go unnoticed by the fascist war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu and his accomplices. After images of Al-Qassam Brigade fighters marching through the streets surfaced on social media, Netanyahu immediately took to the airwaves to spread hateful anti-Palestinian bile. Netanyahu denounced the Al-Qassam processions as “horrifying” and “shocking.” In fact, Netanyahu briefly halted the entire prisoner exchange, creating chaos and confusion among the ranks of the Red Cross and even the Zionist authorities.
The enduring spirit of Palestinian resistance
One question for the war criminal: Is it common for a nation not to celebrate its victories in war and the return of its prisoners? Why should the Palestinian people cower in silence at the feet of occupiers and U.S. imperialists? For Netanyahu to attack the very spirit of the Palestinian people — while an individual cannot walk down the street anywhere in “Israel” without seeing IDF propaganda — is the height of colonial arrogance.
In reality, Netanyahu is simply embarrassed because the prisoner exchanges demonstrate the falsehood of the Zionist assertion that the occupation forces destroyed Hamas. The fact remains that anti-colonial resistance cannot be destroyed, whatever its form. As long as U.S. imperialist-backed occupiers seek to steal Palestine, the people will fight to keep it.
These prisoner exchanges represent a positive development for the Palestinian liberation struggle and are certainly a victory. With that said, any resistance group will say that the struggle is not over until every part of Palestine is returned to its people – from Gaza to the Jordan River.
Long live Palestine.
Lev Koufax is an anti-Zionist Jewish activist.
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