Families of captive Palestinians threatened not to celebrate release of family members following ceasefire deal
The Israeli army has raided the homes of several Palestinian prisoners in the occupied West Bank whose names were included in the list of prisoners to be released in an exchange deal following the Gaza ceasefire.
The raids on Sunday morning targeted the homes of several prisoners who were to be released, as well as prisoners who were to be deported to the Gaza Strip and Egypt. The raids included homes in Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron, Tulkarm and Qalqilya.
Israel agreed to release 250 Palestinian prisoners serving long sentences and life sentences, and 1,700 prisoners from the Gaza Strip captured during the war, in exchange for Hamas releasing all Israeli prisoners, both alive and dead.
Israel has refused to include Palestinian prisoner leaders in the deal, most notably Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Ahmed Saadat, and Hamas leader Abdullah Barghouti, threatening to sabotage the agreement if Hamas continued to pressure mediators to release them.
The raids on Palestinian prisoner homes come as detainees are being transferred and Israeli preparations are underway to regroup them in Ofer and Naqab prisons, in preparation for their release to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
An explicit threat
The Israeli army distributed leaflets in several areas with a clear threat not to participate in the prisoner welcome celebrations, or they would face severe punishment, according to the army.
Razan, the daughter of prisoner Taleb Makhamreh from Yatta, south of Hebron, told Middle East Eye that the Israeli army brutally raided the family's home on Saturday evening and warned them not to show any signs of joy or celebration.
She said they targeted the homes of three prisoners in Yatta who were scheduled to be released. She explained that her father would be released to the Gaza Strip without the family knowing if he were to be deported to Egypt afterwards.
Makharma will complete 23 years in Israeli prisons next week and has been sentenced to seven life terms.
'The soldiers raided the house, threatened us and told us that we were forbidden from showing any signs of joy or welcoming those congratulating him on his release'
- Razan, daughter of detainee
"The soldiers raided the house, threatened us and told us that we were forbidden from showing any signs of joy or welcoming those congratulating him on his release," she added.
"They also fired random bullets in the neighbourhood, wounding a young man in the hand, and assaulted other young men."
Alaa Bani Odeh, the father of prisoner Muhammad from Tamoun, south of Tubas, said the Israeli army raided his home at 6am on Sunday morning and stayed there for an entire hour.
The soldiers spent that hour constantly threatening them against celebrating his release and preventing any celebration or even welcoming people into a public hall.
Bani Odeh will be released to his home in Tammun after four years in prison. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and a fine of 180,000 shekels ($45,000). He was arrested in Jaffa on charges of stabbing and wounding a settler.
"They told us that if there were any celebrations, we would immediately re-arrest him and arrest all family members," he said. "Flying Palestinian flags or faction flags is prohibited."
'Joy is in the heart'
The same thing happened with the families of four prisoners who will be released as part of the deal from the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus.
Maher, the uncle of prisoner Waseem Mleitat, told MEE that the Israeli army simultaneously raided the homes of four Palestinian prisoners and instructed their families not to celebrate or express joy.
They also warned the families against holding any public receptions for them in any hall in the town.
"Waseem was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 10 years and will be released to his home. He has spent 23 and a half years in Israeli prisons," Maher said.
"We hope that he will be released and return to his home and family, even without celebrations. Joy is in the heart."
According to the Palestinian Commission of Prisoners' Affairs, the final list of prisoners to be released has not yet been disclosed, but the list currently being circulated is the one approved by the Israeli government.
More than 11,000 Palestinian prisoners are held in Israeli prisons, including 400 children and 53 women, whom Israel also refused to include in the deal.
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