While joy swept through the crowd of Palestinians that gathered to greet former detainees in the occupied West Bank, those released from Israeli-run jails recalled severe abuse and hardship.
Sameh al-Shoubaki, a 45-year-old former prisoner from the West Bank city of Qalqilya, told Middle East Eye that those like him, who had been sentenced to life in prison, were allowed no contact with the outside world.
“To be a prisoner under a life sentence is to be living in purgatory but without dying,” said Shoubaki, who was released on Thursday after serving 22 years in prison.
Before his arrest in 2003, he had been pursued by Israeli forces for months, surviving several assassination attempts. Following his arrest, he was subjected to a 94-day military investigation and another 33-day investigation in 2013.
Israeli forces demolished his family home a year after his arrest, and his brothers were also detained. He was kept in solitary confinement during his imprisonment.
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Shoubaki said prisoners were not told the names of those set to be released. Instead, news of his impending departure from prison spread through word of mouth.
When asked about his plans for life after prison, Shoubaki said the first thing he will do after returning home is take a cold shower – just like the ones he and other inmates were forced to take in prison. “If you want to feel warmth, take a cold shower,” he said, laughing.
Saeed Comboz, who was in prison for nine years, told MEE that despite the mistreatment detainees endured right before their release by Israeli prison guards, his level of elation was “unexplainable”.
“I didn’t expect this happiness… Thank God for everything,” he said, beaming with joy. “The last moments under the Israeli occupation [in prison] was difficult, but thank God it’s all over.”
Comboz’s father, elated by the release of his son, told MEE he had not seen him for seven years, with all communication cut off completely over the past two years.
“No calls, no messages, nothing at all – the only communication was through the lawyer,” he said, adding that even the lawyer could only see his son every three to four months to “reassure us” about his state.
Several prisoners freed on Thursday, like Comboz, told MEE of the beatings and humiliation they faced while in prison.
The abuse detailed in the testimonies matches dozens of those given to MEE and other media outlets since the war began.
In early August, the Israeli rights group B’Tselem accused Israeli authorities of systematically abusing Palestinians in torture camps, subjecting them to severe violence and sexual assault.
The report, titled “Welcome to Hell”, was based on 55 testimonies from former detainees from the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and citizens of Israel, the overwhelming majority of whom were held without trial.
Houthifa Mora, a 17-year-old from Ramallah, spoke of different types of violence endured while in prison, including forced starvation, physical abuse and being sprayed with gas.
Mora told MEE that prisoners were consumed by illness and disease, such as scabies. “Thank God we got out,” he said. “It is the best feeling [to be out].”
Messages to prisoners and Gaza
In a heartfelt message to Gaza, Shoubaki said: “Gaza acts as a messenger. Ee stood beside one another, and [the people of] Gaza are the ones who defended and underscored the rights of Palestinians in front of the whole world.”
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Meanwhile, Comboz’s father told MEE that he had felt sure his son would reclaim his freedom despite the 17-year sentence he had been handed.
“I hope every [prisoner] gets to go home. The one who is imprisoned will surely taste freedom one day. Thank God for everything,” he said.
Ahmad Frookh, a Palestinian man from Hebron who was held under administrative detention, told MEE that the moments before he was set free were “difficult”.
But he held hope for others residing in Israeli prisons.
“I wish for the immediate release of all of our [Palestinian] prisoners, and of course, our happiness is not complete unless all of our prisoners are free.”
The latest group of 110 Palestinian prisoners released on Thursday in exchange for three Israeli captives held in Gaza included 30 minors, with the youngest being 15-year-old Seif Darweesh from the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem.
