Freedom is bittersweet for Palestinians released from Israeli jails

These prisoners should have been released through a bigger deal that ends the conflict, that brings peace through negotiations, through ending occupation, but the harsh reality in Palestine is that as we talk, occupation continues,

Qarmout told Al Jazeera

Israeli authorities, however, regularly arrest Palestinian children during nighttime raids, interrogate them without a guardian present, hold them for longer periods before bringing them before a judge and hold those as young as 12 in lengthy pretrial detention,

Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch, wrote in November 2023

They’ll continue remotely recruiting and establishing terrorist cells,

he said

I can’t even find the words to say what I feel right now,

said Ahmed Khudjury from Qalqilya in the northern West Bank, as he waited for his family to arrive to collect him

I thank the people of Gaza,

said Khalil Jabarieh from Jenin, as a short burst of celebratory gunfire pierced the air

Every day they beat us, they used dogs to attack us in the prison,

Khudjury said of his time in Naqab prison, where the Israeli prison service cut water and electricity supplies five days after Hamas’s attack

The Israelis are attacking everywhere right now, not just Nablus,

he said

Prison was hard, especially after the war began,

he said

I pray all of these prisoners will be able to meet their families like this,

he said

I only managed to feel some joy when I saw the happiness of the other prisoners being released,

he said

There have been a lot of issues since the beginning of this prisoner release process. It's been difficult for families to get clear confirmation,

Tareq al-Zaro said, his cousins nodding in agreement

It seems, based on the situation in Jenin, they weren't able to make it,

he said, referring to an ongoing Israeli military operation in the city

I can't describe the feeling -- just hearing the news that I would be released was overwhelming

he said while shaking hands with well-wishers

My situation was heartbreaking, truly heartbreaking. We pray to God to free all our brothers we've left behind,

he told the crowd, his head shaved and his face pale and thin under a long red beard

It's amazing how much love our people have shown us, how they've stood by us and expressed their solidarity,

the 31-year-old from the northern West Bank city of Jenin said

We were shocked when the official lists were announced and his name wasn't included,

he said

Being arrested will not stop us from delivering our message or sharing our cause with the world,

Amal said

All detainees released to the West Bank or East Jerusalem need to continuously show up for court appointments, ... "it ... it's very possible that the detainee could be easily targeted and faced with rearrest. We've seen this happen repeatedly in previous exchange deals, including the November 2023 agreement."

Jenna Abdulhasna, Addameer's international advocacy officer told DW

Essentially, the occupation was opposed to student activism on campus,

she said

When we arrived at the detention center, the forced naked searches for female prisoners began,

she said