Red Cross buses carrying 90 Palestinian prisoners arrived in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, where a crowd of thousands welcomed them with slogans, applause and whistles. In the joy of this moment, the warning from the Israeli forces that celebrations would not be allowed was lost.
Israel has released 90 Palestinians from captivity after the release of three Israeli prisoners under the Hamas-Israel ceasefire agreement. All 90 prisoners have returned to Palestine under the supervision of the Red Cross. On his return home he was welcomed with tears and joy by a huge crowd of his relatives, friends and supporters. Seven hours earlier, three Israeli captive women aged between 20 and 30 were released in Gaza.
At around 1am local time (23:00 GMT) on Monday, Red Cross buses carrying 90 Palestinian prisoners arrived in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, where they were welcomed by thousands of people, Al Jazeera reported. In the joy of this moment, the warning from the Israeli forces that celebrations would not be allowed was lost. The released Palestinians included 69 women and 21 teenage boys, some as young as 12, from the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
Khalida Jarrar, 62, was among those freed. She was a prominent member of the leftist ‘Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’ who was held in solitary confinement under ‘administrative detention’ for six months. This rule allows Israeli authorities to detain suspects indefinitely without charge or court verdict.
A huge crowd in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah carried several returned Israeli prisoners on their shoulders in a show of emotional support, while others chanted slogans and whistled. Some people attending the gathering carried flags of Fatah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other armed resistance groups.
Tawil said he began his journey at 3 a.m. Sunday (01:00 GMT), when he was transported from another Israeli prison ahead of his release. In another prison, he was held with other Palestinians awaiting release. “It was extremely difficult to wait. But thank God, we were sure that we would be released any moment,” he said. Tawil said his father, who is in an Israeli prison, would also be released soon. “I was worried about him. He’s still a prisoner, but I just got good news that under this deal he will be released,” he said.
Amanda Abu Sharkh, 23, of Ramallah, was among hundreds of people gathered to welcome the freed prisoners. “We are here to see it and feel the emotions, just like the families of the prisoners being released today,” he said. Abu Sharkh said, “All the prisoners being released today are like family to us. They are part of us, even if they are not our blood relatives.” Muhammad, 20, said that as soon as he heard that the prisoners would be released, he came here with his friends. Recently released from Israel’s Ofer prison, she expressed ‘great joy’ at the idea of ​​families being reunited.
The exact number of Palestinians to be released under the ceasefire agreement is still unknown. According to reports, the number could range from 1,000 to around 2,000. In the first phase of the agreement, Hamas will release a total of 33 Israeli detainees over the next 42 days. The next release is scheduled for Saturday. The second phase of ceasefire talks is scheduled to begin in two weeks. More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began on October 7, and about 90 percent of Gaza’s population has been forcibly displaced by Israeli evacuation orders and attacks.
