DaysofPal- Hundreds of Palestinian detainees released by Israel under the ceasefire deal have arrived at the European Hospital in Gaza, while emotional reunions unfolded in the occupied West Bank as dozens of prisoners serving life and long-term sentences were finally reunited with their families. Meanwhile, Israel has exiled 97 other released detainees to Egypt.
Eyad al-Saudi, one of the released prisoners from Gaza, described his relief at being freed but emphasized that his joy remains incomplete as many others continue to suffer in Israeli detention.
“During the first period in jail, we were handcuffed and blindfolded for 90 days; you see no one and no one sees us. And we used to sit on our knees or our buttocks for 18 or 20 hours,” he told Reuters.
“But we still have other prisoners (locked up); our joy is not complete because there are prisoners left behind. Our joy will not be complete except by clearing the prisons from the young people detained in them,” he added.
“Praise be to God, we feel great, but the joy is not complete. Why? Because there are young men who are still imprisoned and suffering. The period of captivity was not just being held captive, it was torture, torture beyond description.”
Another released prisoner, Yahya Shrida, who was freed in Ramallah, likened Israeli prisons to graveyards.
“We have been taken out of suffering as if we have been dug out of our own graves. No prisoner has had the experience of having their own release delayed twice,” he said.
“What we have been through is a situation that the mountains can’t carry. It is very hard to explain; it is very hard to talk about what we have been through.”
The first phase of the ceasefire deal has so far resulted in the release of 642 Palestinian detainees. However, as former prisoners recount their harrowing experiences, many continue to call for the release of those still held in Israeli jails.
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