After more than 4 decades behind bars, Nael Barghouti (67 years old), the dean of Palestinian prisoners, was released on Thursday morning, carrying decades of steadfastness and suffering in the prisons of the Israeli occupation.

Over the past years of his imprisonment, prisoner Barghouti sent many messages, one of which we recall: “If there was a free world as they claim, I would not have remained in captivity until today.”

On Thursday morning, Israel released Barghouti among hundreds of liberated Palestinian prisoners, as part of the seventh and final batch of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.

Barghouti spent a total of more than 45 years moving between Israeli prison cells, and is considered one of the most prominent symbols of the Palestinian prisoner movement.

Barghouti's release represents a turning point in the history of the Palestinian struggle, as he embodies a model of steadfastness despite the repeated sanctions imposed on him by Israel that failed to break his will.

The prisoner Nael Barghouti was born in the town of Kobar on October 23, 1957. He was arrested for the first time in 1978 and sentenced to life imprisonment and 18 years. Over the course of 34 years, which he spent continuously, the occupation authorities refused to release him, despite the conclusion of many exchange deals and releases that took place within the framework of negotiations.

On October 18, 2011, as part of the “Wafa al-Ahrar” prisoner exchange deal, he was released along with hundreds of prisoners, including his comrade-in-arms, the freed prisoner Fakhri al-Barghouti. After his release, he married the freed prisoner Aman Nafi’.

On June 18, 2014, the occupation authorities re-arrested him again and issued a sentence of 30 months against him. After he had served his sentence, they reinstated his previous sentence, which was life imprisonment and (18) years, under the pretext of the existence of a (secret file), along with dozens of those released in the “Wafa al-Ahrar” deal, whose previous sentences were reinstated, and most of them are serving life sentences.

In 2018, the occupation forces killed his nephew Saleh Al-Barghouti, arrested his brother Asem, and a large group of his family members, and demolished two of the family’s homes, as part of the policy of collective punishment. During the past year, the occupation arrested his wife Aman Nafeh and his only sister Hanan Al-Barghouti, and released them.

During the year 2021, Barghouti faced a difficult station in his life, added to dozens of previous stations, with the loss of his brother and companion Omar Barghouti (Abu Asif), as the occupation once again deprived him of bidding farewell to one of his loved ones, just as he had previously lost his parents and was also deprived of bidding farewell to them.