Freed Palestinian detainees celebrate release, call for others’ freedom

By Aysar Alais, Mehmet Nuri Ucar, and Merve Berker

JERUSALEM / ANKARA (AA) – Palestinians released under the prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel have expressed joy at regaining their freedom and hoped that all Palestinian detainees will be freed, ending the suffering and dire conditions in Israeli prisons.

Speaking to Anadolu, the freed detainees emphasized the role of resistance groups in Gaza and the occupied West Bank in securing their release.

They also called for an end to the mistreatment and torture of prisoners in Israeli detention facilities.

Shadi Karan, a resident of Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank who spent over 17 years in Israeli custody, described the harsh conditions inside the prisons.

Thousands of detainees endure severe mistreatment and pressure from the Israeli prison administration, he said, calling for immediate action to secure the release of those still in detention.

Returning to his home in Tulkarem refugee camp, which has been under heavy Israeli military attacks for five days, Karan emphasized that their freedom came at the cost of lives lost in Israeli attacks on Gaza and the West Bank.

- ‘This occupation will end, and prisons will not defeat us’

Ali Hasan Bargouthi, a resident of Aboud village northwest of Ramallah, expressed gratitude to the resistance in Gaza.

Bargouthi, who was sentenced to life in prison and spent 21 years in Israeli detention, reaffirmed his commitment to the Palestinian cause.

He with Karan, asserting that they were freed through resistance despite the occupation, which he said would eventually end.

"Salutations to the resistance that delivered our freedom despite the occupation. This occupation will end, and prisons will not defeat us. Our people's will is strong, and freedom will inevitably come," he said.

Another freed prisoner, Mohammed Dahnoun from Ramallah, highlighted the severe mistreatment of detainees in Israeli prisons and called for their immediate release.

Dahnoun, who was also sentenced to life imprisonment and spent 21 years in detention, recounted the severe torture that prisoners suffered, adding that the most difficult moments were learning about the destruction and casualties in Gaza.

- Ongoing Israeli attacks in the West Bank

On Jan. 21, the Israeli army launched a military assault on Jenin city and its refugee camp, killing at least 24 Palestinians. The offensive later expanded to Tulkarem, where three Palestinians have been killed.

The escalation in the occupied West Bank came after a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, suspending 15 months of Israel’s war that has killed more than 47,400 people and reduced the enclave to rubble.

Since the war on Gaza began in October 2023, more than 900 Palestinians have been killed across the occupied West Bank in attacks by Israeli forces and illegal settlers.