The Israeli prison service confirmed today the release of 183 Palestinian prisoners as part of the fifth round of exchanges. This time, three Israeli hostages held by Hamas were freed under the terms of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, reports AP.
The released prisoners were sent to East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank, and Gaza. Their number matches the figure announced last night by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, a non-governmental organization monitoring detainees.
Israel considers these prisoners to be terrorists, while Palestinians regard them as freedom fighters resisting decades of Israeli military occupation.
Almost every Palestinian has a friend or family member who has been imprisoned in Israel at some point, whether for attacks or minor offenses such as stone-throwing, demonstrations, or membership in political groups banned in Israel. Some detainees have spent years in prison without trial, with Israel justifying this as a measure to prevent attacks and protect sensitive intelligence.
Eighteen of the Palestinians released today had been sentenced to life imprisonment, while 54 had received long-term sentences for involvement in deadly attacks on Israelis. Seven of those convicted of the most serious crimes will be sent to Egypt before being deported to other countries.
Among those released today were 111 Palestinians detained following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, which triggered the ongoing war, now temporarily halted by a ceasefire under negotiation. These detainees had been held without trial.
Hamas condemned the “slow death” of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, stating that seven newly freed detainees were immediately hospitalized due to poor treatment while incarcerated. Among them was Jamal al-Tawil, a senior Hamas political leader in the West Bank.
According to Hamas, the hospitalizations reflect “the aggression and systematic mistreatment of Palestinian detainees by Israeli prison authorities,” who allegedly disregard prisoners’ age and health conditions.
Among those released under the ceasefire agreement that began on January 19 was Abu Shaqdam (49), sentenced to 18 life terms for his involvement in Hamas attacks that killed dozens of Israelis during the Second Intifada (2000-2005). One of the deadliest incidents attributed to him was the 2004 double suicide bombing of two buses in Beersheba, which killed 16 Israelis and wounded 100 others.
Shaqdam was on the run for weeks before being captured in his hometown of Hebron in November 2004 after a firefight with Israeli security forces in which he was shot ten times. During his 21 years in prison, his family says he completed high school and took psychology courses.
Another freed Palestinian was Al-Tawil (61), a prominent Hamas politician in the West Bank, who has spent nearly two decades in Israeli prisons. He was last arrested in 2021 on charges of inciting violence and mobilizing Hamas political activists in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, Hamas’s main rival.
Al-Tawil was detained without charges or trial and went on a hunger strike for over three weeks. His daughter, 32-year-old journalist Bushra al-Tawil, was among dozens of women and teenagers released in the first hostage-prisoner exchange on January 19. Like her father, she was detained without formal charges.
Al-Tawil was also hospitalized following his release.
