1000’s of Palestinians gathered in Ramallah on Monday to await the discharge of some 2,000 political prisoners and forcibly disappeared individuals who had been taken by Israel from the West Financial institution, which it occupies, and Gaza, which it has waged conflict on for 2 years.
Palestinians welcomed again 96 political prisoners, in addition to the overwhelming majority of individuals Israel detained from Gaza through the conflict.
This comes as a part of an alternate of 20 residing and 28 deceased Israeli captives held in Gaza for the almost 2,000 Palestinian captives.
Of the greater than 200 Israeli captives taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023, a complete of 114 had been launched throughout two captive swaps with Hamas in November 2023 and January 2025, respectively.
They had been handed over in alternate for the liberty of a complete of 1,240 Palestinians.
Regardless of the transient euphoria, Israel violated ceasefires that coincided with these captive releases, arresting Palestinians throughout Gaza and the occupied territory wholesale, often with out cost.
Right here’s all it is advisable to know concerning the Palestinians anticipated to be launched as a part of the ceasefire deal, in addition to those that weren’t included within the deal and who will keep in captivity.
Who’s being launched?
A complete of 250 Palestinian political prisoners who’re both serving life sentences or lengthy sentences are being launched from Israeli jails.
In keeping with knowledge obtained by Al Jazeera, all however 9 of those prisoners are from the West Financial institution, and 157 of them are members of Fatah, the get together that controls the Palestinian Authority governing elements of the West Financial institution.
Sixty-five are from Hamas, and the remainder are from smaller political factions.
As well as, Israel will free 1,718 Palestinians who had been, in keeping with the United Nations, forcefully disappeared by Israel over the past two years of its genocidal conflict on Gaza.
5 of them are kids beneath the age of 18, and two are ladies, in keeping with the prisoner record obtained by Al Jazeera.
A lot of the disappeared from Gaza had been held in army camps, the place dehumanisation and torture had been rampant, in keeping with worldwide and Israeli and Palestinian human rights teams.
Palestinians had been reportedly subjected to extreme beatings, medical neglect, hunger and even rape.
In keeping with the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, 77 prisoners have died in Israeli custody since October 7.
What number of Palestinians is Israel not releasing?
1000’s.
In keeping with Addameer, a Palestinian human rights organisation monitoring political prisoners, the variety of folks taken captive by Israel elevated from 5,200 to 11,100 since October 7, 2023.
The overwhelming majority of those prisoners are from the occupied West Financial institution – 400 of them kids.
Murad Jadallah, a human rights researcher with Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq, instructed Al Jazeera: “Israel tries to destroy Palestinian society in several methods, and arresting kids is among the instruments it makes use of to take action.”
As soon as a Palestinian captive is launched, that’s it, proper?
No.
Israel tends to re-arrest Palestinians shortly after they’re freed in captive swaps, stated Tahani Mustafa, an knowledgeable on Israel-Palestine with the European Council on International Relations (ECFR).
In November 2023, Israel launched 240 Palestinian prisoners in a swap for Israeli captives held by Hamas in Gaza as a part of a brief ceasefire deal.
Weeks later, Israel re-arrested 30 of these folks.
“Israel has a protracted historical past of utilizing incarceration and arrests as a political weapon, and generally that may very well be for bargaining functions for a later date,” Mustafa instructed Al Jazeera.
“There’s additionally no assure [with this current deal] that these being launched gained’t be rearrested once more,” she added.
Will all of those Palestinian detainees have the ability to go house as we speak?
Most of them have already been launched.
Whereas 96 of the 250 high-level political prisoners are being launched to the West Financial institution and Gaza, about 154 of them are being deported from Palestine to 3rd nations that haven’t been introduced but.
In keeping with WAFA, the 154 have been taken to Egypt, however that won’t be the ultimate vacation spot for all of them.
Israel might resolve to not launch everybody till it additionally retrieves the our bodies of 28 deceased Israeli captives, that are anticipated over the following 72 hours.
Hamas stated that it might battle to find all of the deceased captives in that timeframe, however that the group is actively trying to find them.
1000’s of individuals gathered in Khan Younis, Gaza, to welcome Palestinians – largely civilians, together with medics – who had been disappeared by Israel.
There should be hundreds of completely happy households as we speak?
Nicely, sure, however they’ve been threatened to not present it.
Households are ordered by Israel to not have fun the discharge of their family members or increase Palestinian flags within the occupied West Financial institution and occupied East Jerusalem.
And the households of prisoners who’re being exiled as we speak will possible be prevented from travelling overseas to fulfill them of their nation of exile.
Jadallah, from Al-Haq, added that almost all Palestinians merely hope the captive swap represents a everlasting finish to Israel’s genocidal conflict on Gaza.
He added that Palestinians are sad that distinguished Palestinian leaders akin to Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed Saadat won’t be launched.
The previous is arguably probably the most well-known Palestinian political prisoner, historically aligned with Fatah, and the latter leads the Common Entrance for the Liberation of Palestine.
Famend Palestinian physician Hussam Abu Safia, who was kidnapped from Kamel Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza in December 2024, was not among the many record of prisoners anticipated to be launched.
Abu Safia has been subjected to extreme torture and solitary confinement, in keeping with human rights screens.
A freed Palestinian prisoner after being launched from an Israeli jail in Ramallah, the Israeli-occupied West Financial institution, October 13, 2025 [Mohammed Torokman/Reuters]
