The last hope for the security prisoners of the 1948 Palestinians

I do not doubt for a moment the Palestinian negotiator's keenness to release all security prisoners from Israeli prisons, especially the prisoners inside Palestine/Israel and the prisoners of occupied Jerusalem, within the framework of any deal that may crystallize one day through the ongoing negotiations sponsored by Qatar and Egypt.

However, I see it as a matter of honesty to remind the Palestinian negotiator, at this critical stage in the life of the prisoner movement, of the constants that must be adhered to, which are considered, for the prisoners at this dangerous juncture, a matter of life or death, no less!

I share to the fullest extent the concerns of the families of the prisoners inside the country / Palestinians of 1948, and the families of the prisoners of occupied Jerusalem, regarding the chances of releasing their prisoners in general, and their old prisoners (pre-Oslo prisoners in particular), in light of the dense fog surrounding the issue of the prisoner exchange deal that is being negotiated at this time, as part of a deal that includes: 1.

1. An immediate end to the war of extermination that Israel has been waging on the Gaza Strip for 14 months, 2. A complete withdrawal of the occupation army from all parts of the Strip, 3. A prisoner exchange deal on the basis of all for all, 4. Ending the siege that has been ongoing since 2007, 5. Reconstructing what was destroyed by the war.

Drawing lessons from previous experiences in negotiations with Israel regarding prisoners in general, and Palestinian prisoners from within the country and occupied Jerusalem in particular (the 2014 negotiations as a model), is very necessary so that the Palestinian negotiator and the prisoners together do not fall victim to the Israeli negotiator’s evasions and tricks.

Before the first round of negotiations began in Washington in 2013/2014, and despite our emphasis on the Palestinian side, by all available means, on the necessity of standing firmly on its right to release all political prisoners from before and after Oslo, before the start of negotiations, on the basis that the release of prisoners should be a condition for negotiations and not a result of them, the statement of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Prisoners and Freed Prisoners Affairs at the time came that (the Israeli side informed its Palestinian counterpart of the release of the first batch of prisoners from before the signing of the Oslo Agreement 1993, numbering 25 prisoners during the month of August 2013), which condemned our prisoners to remain in prisons without a glimmer of hope for their release one day.

At that time, we raised a set of questions that we hoped the Palestinian side would take into consideration. First, does this statement by the Undersecretary of the Ministry mean that Israel will determine the names of the prisoners released in each batch? Second, will the first list include any prisoners from inside? Third, will the batches of released prisoners be equal, or will they be larger in the second and third batches? Fourth, will the last batch (the fourth, it seems) be postponed until the end of the negotiations period (nine months), and who are these prisoners whose release will be postponed until the end? Fifth, can the Palestinian side reassure the families of our prisoners inside the country about the detailed status of the release process and its timetable, away from general statements?

The lack of clarity at the time increased the concern of the families of our prisoners inside, especially since we are talking about prisoners who have been spending periods of injustice ranging between 30 and 40 years, after all the political releases since Oslo 1993 (including the body of the martyred prisoner Walid Daqqa who died months before the end of his 39-year sentence, which Israel still refuses to release), as well as prisoner exchange deals between the resistance factions and Israel since 1985 until now, and even the Wafa al-Ahrar deal in 2011 only released five of them, despite what we considered at the time to be a great achievement, because the deal forced Israel to change its approach of refusing “in principle” to include prisoners inside in any deal with the Palestinian people under the pretext that they are an “internal Israeli affair” that the Palestinian negotiator has nothing to do with. The release of five of them as part of the (Shalit deal) was a break from this Israeli approach that must be exploited to the end this time with the aim of releasing once and for all all internal security prisoners without exception. Now that negotiations between Palestine and Israel have begun with Qatari-Egyptian-American mediation, regardless of the obstacles that the Netanyahu-Smotrich-Ben Gvir government places in their path, all that remains is for the families of our prisoners to receive accurate information about the fate of their prisoners as part of these negotiations so that they do not remain prey to rumors that further deteriorate the families’ psychological state.

The duty of the Palestinian negotiator at this critical stage is to be careful and not give the Israeli side the opportunity to manipulate this dangerous file, which requires a developed Palestinian position that calls, in response to this Israeli behavior, for the release of the prisoners of the interior (the 1948 Palestinians) and the prisoners of occupied Jerusalem first, and not to leave them at the mercy of the Israeli negotiator, if he wants he will give and if he wants he will refuse, which - based on past experiences - is closer to rejection than to approval.

We are fully confident that the firm Palestinian position and insistence on releasing all old prisoners without division is what will force the Israeli government to submit to this just demand.

Through my communication with the families of the Palestinian prisoners inside the country, I sense a heavy concern that never leaves them, especially since leaked news says that the principle that the Palestinian negotiator spoke about from the beginning, which is (all for all), is no longer on the table, and that a concession has been made in this regard, and that new equations have entered the negotiations line that may give Israel the authority to determine (who) will be released in this deal, and within the framework of what conditions! Through my close and precise follow-up of the statements from both sides and through the statements of the mediators, I did not find anything that confirms or denies what the media is promoting, and from here the anxiety grows in the hearts of the families of the prisoners who see in this deal the last hope to rescue their prisoners from the jaws of death that has been attacking them inside the Israeli "Bastilles" for decades.

Any acceptance by the Palestinian negotiator, within the framework of any expected agreement, of Israeli dictates to release prisoners in batches that specify the names of those to be released in each batch, and not in a single batch in which the Palestinian side specifies the names of those to be released, is a return to the square of Israeli maneuvers that are no longer hidden from anyone, let alone the Palestinian negotiator who has gone through bitter experiences with the Israeli side and at more than one turning point, nothing worked for him except insistence on the immediate release of all security prisoners inside prisons without exception, and wresting the right of veto from the Israeli hand once and for all and without hesitation, no matter the pressures. Any concessions in this regard mean that the fate of security prisoners from inside Palestine and occupied Jerusalem will remain unknown due to the bitter experiences that the Palestinians have gone through in all previous stages of negotiations, and the pages of treachery and deception that Israel has recorded throughout its long history with the Palestinians, especially on the issue of prisoners.

At this particular stage - after the war of extermination that Israel is waging up to this hour on the Gaza Strip - nothing less than the release of all security prisoners without exception, especially the prisoners inside Palestine and occupied Jerusalem. This is what befits the size of the sacrifices that the Palestinian people have made in this war, and continue to make, patiently and with reward.

The Palestinian negotiator must stipulate two basic conditions if he goes for gradual release. The first is that the Palestinian negotiator retains the absolute right to determine the names of those included in the batches, the number of batches, and the number of those released in each batch. The second is to ensure that the prisoners of the interior and occupied Jerusalem are included in the first batch, because the Arab masses do not trust the Israeli government, and because this is the last available opportunity for their release, and the families of the prisoners will never be satisfied with wasting it.

I will never forget the open letter sent by the dean of prisoners, Karim Younis, at the time (he was released on 5-1-2023 after completing his full sentence of forty years, during which he lost his father and mother), in which he hit the nail on the head, published by many media outlets on 11-8-2014, where he said verbatim: (After the smile of pride and the dignity of belonging returned to us, and the blood of renewed hope was pumped into our hearts, we find ourselves returning to the beginning and drowning once again in the labyrinths of loss, fragmentation, stages, and security and geographical divisions, as if the experience of 20 years of negotiations was not enough to get to know our enemy and Netanyahu in particular..)

I have no doubt that the words spoken by the released prisoner (Karim Younis) many years ago, express in a true manner the feelings of every security prisoner who is still waiting impatiently for his release! Yes, "the smile of pride and the pride of belonging returned, and the blood of renewed hope was pumped into the hearts of the prisoners", as they follow the rounds of negotiations between the resistance and Israel, driven by hope and confidence that they are heading towards the embrace of freedom this time, and the Palestinian negotiator will not abandon them and will not leave them to "drown once again in the labyrinths of loss, fragmentation, stages, and security and geographical divisions, as if the experience of more than 30 years of negotiations was not enough to get to know our enemy and Netanyahu in particular..). A major challenge that we are confident that the Palestinian negotiator fully comprehends.

What prompted me to raise this issue was my personal interest in the prisoners’ file through my previous parliamentary work, and my following up on its details directly with the political prisoners themselves, in all Israeli prisons, and with all the official and popular bodies related to the prisoners’ issue, and I am still interested in this file to this day.

I was also driven to do this by what I witnessed personally of the limitless suffering, not only of the prisoners inside the prisons, whose souls yearned for freedom after long decades spent in prisons, but also because of the suffering of the families, including mothers, wives, sons and daughters, whose souls also yearned to meet their loved ones and embrace them after long years of separation spent in constant travel, sometimes hundreds of kilometers (depending on the location of the prison), in order to meet their sons and husbands inside the prisons for forty-five minutes, in which they could relieve some of the pain of separation and long absence.

I have witnessed the prisoners’ double suffering due to the persecution they face inside the prisons because of the unjust policies of the jailer on the one hand, and because of the suffering of the families, which has increased their concerns and doubled their sorrows on the other hand, and the failure of their nation, both officially and popularly, to follow up on their case and do what is necessary to liberate them, especially since they only entered the prisons to defend their cause and protect the dignity of their people and nation on the third hand.

We are confident that the file of the prisoners of freedom, especially the prisoners of the interior and occupied Jerusalem, will be closed one day in the near future, and we will hold celebrations on this occasion sooner or later. I am also confident that the Israeli occupation will inevitably disappear from the Palestinian land, including the Holy Jerusalem and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, as our Lord Almighty has promised.