Occupation attacks, threatens freedom fighters’ families as they await second Toufan al-Ahrar prisoner exchange

As the Palestinian people and the families of the prisoners prepare for the second phase of the first stage of the Toufan al-Ahrar, Flood of the Free, prisoner exchange between the resistance and the Zionist occupation, the occupation is not only continuing its assault on Jenin but also specifically targeting the families of the liberated prisoners.

As he attempted to cross the Karameh crossing to Jordan to travel to Egypt to potentially welcome his brother Jawad Jawarish, Abdullah Jawarish — a liberated prisoner — was himself abducted by the occupation. Occupation forces invaded the home of Zakaria Zubeidi, the hero of the Freedom Tunnel, who will be released in the exchange, handcuffed and blindfolded his wife, son and daughter, and ransacked the home for hours. This follows upon the attacks on liberated women prisoners released in the first phase of Toufan al-Ahrar on Sunday, 19 January: occupation forces invaded the homes of Rula Hassanein, the Palestinian journalist who had been deprived of her beloved baby daughter Elia, and Jenin Amr, the Palestinian student at Hebron University, after their widely publicized media interviews highlighting the conditions and experiences of the women prisoners.

Despite their invasions and attacks, 200 Palestinian freedom fighters will be liberated tomorrow at the hands of the Resistance and with the sacrifices and steadfastness of the Palestinian people in Gaza and their fellow resistance strugglers throughout the region.

On Friday, 24 January, Abu Obeida, the military spokesperson of the Izz el-Din al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, named the four Zionist female soldiers who will be exchanged by the Resistance as part of this stage of the exchange. They will be exchanged for 200 Palestinian prisoners, including 120 with life sentences and 80 with long sentences. The list presented by the occupation has not yet been made public by the Palestinian prisoners’ organizations and the Prisoners’ Media Office; as soon as it is public, we will translate and publish the list. While there is a list that has been published by the occupation of over 700 Palestinians to be included in the exchange, that list has not been approved by the Resistance and is not official until it is published by the Prisoners’ Media Office.

The Palestinian prisoners being released will include freedom fighters serving lengthy sentences who have played a major role in the Palestinian Resistance. Of those being released, some will be deported outside Palestine. The Prisoners’ Media Office stated: “Deportation is divided into deportation for an indefinite period of time, and temporary deportation conditional on a small number of years. For the prisoner who has been sentenced to a high sentence and is scheduled for deportation, will be given a choice, meaning the matter is referred to the prisoner and he decides for himself” whether he will participate. The Prisoners’ Media Office stated that the “Arab Republic of Egypt is a station for receiving prisoners who are scheduled to be released…The final place of deportation is being discussed and consulted. There are several options on the table and the place of deportation will be announced after the arrangements are completed.”

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club and the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission stated that, according to information from the International Committee of the Red Cross, they will begin examining liberated prisoners at 5:00 am at Ofer prison and the release will take place beginning between 10 am and 11 am tomorrow, Saturday 25 January.

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Once again, as throughout the history of prisoner exchanges, it has been made clear that it is the resistance that brings liberation, to the prisoners, the land and the people of Palestine, a resistance that stretches from the heart of Gaza, throughout Palestine, to Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran, and to the people of the world.

We urge everyone, around the world, to join with the Palestinian people in Gaza and everywhere, to celebrate the achievements of the Resistance and the humiliation of the occupier, and to celebrate and welcome each liberated prisoner as the heroes of our global movement that they are, in public events, with posters and public education, with actions and events exposing Zionism and imperialism everywhere.

We urge all supporters of Palestine and Palestinian and Arab communities to receive and honour the prisoners virtually and symbolically — and pledge to continue the movement until all of them are free, and all of Palestine is free, from the river to the sea.