Israel-Gaza ceasefire agreement: Which Palestinian prisoners could be released? , jail news

More than a thousand Palestinian prisoners, many of whom have been held without charge for years within the Israeli prison system, are preparing for their first taste of freedom.

The exact number of prisoners to be released in exchange for Israeli prisoners held in Gaza is not clear. The text of the ceasefire agreement has not yet been released, and details reported by media outlets describe different proportions for the detainee exchange, depending on whether the Palestinian prisoners are serving life sentences. Are there or not?

According to the Palestinian Detainees and Former Detainees Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners Society, there are currently 10,400 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, not including those detained in Gaza during the past 15 months of conflict.

The Israeli Justice Ministry has released a list of 95 Palestinian women and children who will be released on Sunday when the implementation of the ceasefire agreement begins, but beyond that, no names of the prisoners to be released are known.

According to the outline of the deal, his release will not take place before 4pm local time (14:00 GMT) on Sunday.

According to media reports, the list of names released by Israel shows that a large number of people were arrested following the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023. Less than 10 people were arrested before the attacks.

first stage

During the first phase of a three-phase deal between Hamas and Israel, more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners will be exchanged for the remaining 33 Israeli detainees, whose total number is estimated to be around 100.

Under the terms of the agreement, Palestinian prisoners will be released in exchange for Israeli detainees in a ratio agreed upon by both parties and international mediators in Doha.

According to reports, 110 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Israeli courts will be exchanged for nine sick and injured Israeli detainees. In addition, Israeli men over the age of 50 will be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in a ratio of 1:3 for those sentenced to life imprisonment and 1:27 for those serving other sentences.

Previous prisoner exchange

Prisoners have long been used as currency in Israel’s dealings with Palestinian groups.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the time that during stalled 2013 peace talks, Israel had agreed to the gradual release of more than 100 Palestinians with the intention of promoting negotiations.

However, closer parallels to the current exchange can be found in the 1983 prisoner exchange, when more than 4,500 Palestinian prisoners were released in exchange for six Israeli soldiers. Similarly, in 1985, approximately 1,150 Palestinian prisoners were exchanged for three Israeli soldiers. The current exchange is also similar in scope to perhaps the most famous prisoner swap, which involved the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011.

Gilad Shalit Exchange

1,027 Palestinian prisoners were exchanged in 2011 for Shalit, who was captured by Hamas in a cross-border raid in 2006 and detained for five years after negotiations for his release failed.

In 2014, the Israeli government acknowledged that it had re-arrested 51 of the three Israeli teenagers after their kidnapping and eventual murder in the occupied West Bank. Speaking later about those arrests, Netanyahu made no attempt to link those arrested to the missing teenagers, saying only that their abduction had sent “an important message” to Hamas.

high profile prisoner

Khaleda Jarrar, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in the occupied West Bank, is among Palestinian prisoners to be released on Sunday, Israeli Army Radio said.

Palestinians are also demanding the release of several other high-profile prisoners, including some serving life sentences.

They include Marwan Barghouti, one of the leading figures of the Palestinian group Fatah, whose long-awaited release has been repeatedly blocked by Israeli authorities. The release of Barghouti, who helped author the Palestinian prisoners’ document in 2006 that brought together many different Palestinian factions, could have important repercussions for Palestinian politics, as when Palestinians are asked who they would The unifying figure has come out on top again and again. Vote in any future presidential elections.

Contacted by Al Jazeera on Friday, representatives of Barghouti, including family members, said that although they were hopeful, they had not received any information about his possible release.

Another high-profile Palestinian prisoner is PFLP chief Ahmed Sadat, who was accused by Israel of ordering the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi in ​​2001, although the Justice Ministry initially decided not to charge him. There was not enough evidence for. For murder.

What have the prisoners endured?

Although the locations where many of the prisoners scheduled for release are being held are unknown, rights groups have long expressed concern over conditions within the Israeli prison system.

In August, Israeli rights group B’Tselem published a comprehensive report detailing a network of Israeli detention facilities, described as “torture camps”. Global NGO Human Rights Watch also published reports on the Israeli prison system in July and August, detailing rape, sharing of sexual images of Palestinian prisoners, including children, and systemic torture of detainees.

In July 2024, the Israeli minister responsible for the prison system, far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, claimed that “everything published about the appalling conditions of Palestinians in Israeli prisons” was true.

More than 3,000 Palestinian prisoners are also held in administrative detention, meaning they are held without trial or charges.