Israel prevented the travel of a number of families of Palestinian prisoners whom it deported from the West Bank to other countries last week in violation of the exchange deal with Hamas.
The prisoners were released in the second batch of the first phase of the ceasefire deal agreed on 19 January.
On Saturday, Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment and other long jail sentences, 70 of whom were deported outside Palestine under the pretext of the security threat they might pose to Israel.
The families of these prisoners have confirmed that they received assurances that facilitating their travel was one of the terms of the exchange deal, but Israel did not adhere to it, prevented them from doing so, and even insulted them.
Naji Abu Hamid, the brother of the three released prisoners Nasr, Sharif and Muhammad from Ramallah, told Middle East Eye that he and their mother unsuccessfully tried to travel through the Karama crossing with Jordan to meet them.
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Israeli intelligence obstructed their travel and kept them in the waiting room for hours, then one of the Israeli officers came to meet them, insulted them and expelled them from the place, Hamid said.
“They humiliated us under the pretext of security measures, then told us that we were not allowed to travel. We contacted the Palestinian Civil Affairs Administration, but to no avail,” he added.
The three released brothers were arrested more than 20 years ago and Israel issued life sentences against them, while their brother Nasser died in prison in 2022 and his body is still being held by Israel.
Their brother Islam is still serving a life sentence since his arrest in 2018, and their brother Abdel Moneim was killed by the Israeli army in 1994.
‘He should have died in prison’
The prisoners who were deported by Israel from the West Bank arrived in Egypt after their release through the Karm Abu Salem crossing on Saturday, but it is not yet clear where their permanent place of residence will be.
The family of the freed prisoner Iyad Al-Masalma from Hebron was impatiently awaiting his release, as he was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to life imprisonment four times, equivalent to 396 years.
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Israel decided that he would be among those deported outside Palestine. Despite this, it stormed his house several times before releasing him and threatened his family to prevent the celebration. Israeli forces also detained his niece and cousin on the pretext of hanging pictures of him on his house.
His brother Mahmoud told MEE that he and his brothers tried to travel through the Karama crossing, but they were insulted, sent back, and prevented from completing their journey to meet their brother.
“One of the Israeli officers spoke to us after they made us wait for more than three hours, and told us that we were banned from travelling, that Iyad should have died in prison, and that people like him should not be released, and that the Israeli political decision makers made a mistake in releasing these people,” he added.
Although Mahmoud usually travels a lot to visit his nephews who are studying medicine in Egypt, this time he was prevented from travelling to meet his released brother.
“My parents are old and are eager to meet their son after all these years, but we didn’t want to make them experience travel in vain. We are waiting for permission to do so,” Mahmoud said.
‘My parents are old and are eager to meet their son after all these years’
– Mahmoud, brother of deported Palestinian prisoner
Despite all the humiliating measures they are subjected to, the families of the deported prisoners released in the deal insist on repeating the attempt to travel until they can meet them after years of imprisonment in Israel.
“I told the Israeli officer, if you do not allow us to travel, we will leave the way the prisoners left your prisons,” Mahmoud added.
On Thursday, Israel is due to release 110 more Palestinian prisoners, including 30 minors, in exchange for three Israeli captives held in Gaza.
