With the world’s attention fixated on the release of three Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity on Sunday evening, much less was made of the release of 90 Palestinians from Israeli prison — most of whom had been held for months without charges. The first exchanges of the Gaza ceasefire agreement were due to take place more or less in tandem, but Israel delayed the release from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank by around seven hours, leaving the families of prisoners waiting until 1 a.m to be reunited with their loved ones.

Israel blamed the delay on the Red Cross, while Palestinian officials claimed there was an issue with Israel’s list of prisoners to be released. Overall, the process surrounding their release was marked by the collective punishment that is characteristic of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories.

Thousands of Palestinians — including prisoners’ families, activists, and former prisoners — crammed into the main square in Beitunia, near Ramallah, waiting for hours in the cold to receive their loved ones without knowing when the 72 prisoners and detainees would arrive (12 others, due to be released to East Jerusalem, were also delayed). The crowd lit fires to stay warm, and some youths burned a pile of tires in an attempt to block the expected advances of the Israeli army.

The Palestinian Authority’s security forces later came to extinguish the fires in order to avoid giving Israel any excuse to delay the prisoners’ release. However, it seemed that between Israel’s military, which had committed to preventing scenes of celebration on the streets of the West Bank, and settlers, who were angered by the freeing of Palestinian prisoners, there were plenty who were eager for the release to be postponed.

During the previous exchange of captives in November 2023, Red Cross buses transported prisoners from Ofer Prison to central Ramallah where they were greeted by a joyous crowd. This time, Israel decided to bring them to Beitunia, on the outskirts of the city, in an attempt to minimize another large public display of Palestinian national pride.

It was no use: once the Israeli forces that had accompanied the Red Cross buses withdrew from the area, after having tried to repel the crowd and fired tear gas as Palestinian youths hurled stones toward them, massive celebrations immediately ensued. Fireworks illuminated the sky, while people in the crowd chanted nationalist slogans and waved Palestinian and Hamas flags. People climbed on top of the buses and attempted to open the doors until Palestinian police arrived to push them back (PA forces also detained Al Jazeera reporter Givara Budeiri, who was covering the events, for around an hour following a decision earlier this month to ban the network from operating in the West Bank).

When the prisoners — ranging in age from their teens to their sixties — disembarked and reunited with their families, some were taken home immediately while others remained to speak with the dozens of media teams present. They wore gray tracksuits bearing the logo of the Israel Prison Service, which had barely been cleaned or replaced since conditions for Palestinians in Israeli prisons drastically deteriorated after October 7.

Among the freed prisoners who spoke to the media, even those who did not explicitly credit Hamas with their release thanked the people of Gaza for their sacrifice. “Support for Hamas in the West Bank will only grow,” a local journalist said. “Time and again, prisoners are freed only as a result of kidnappings and exchange deals.”

Meanwhile, as thousands of Palestinians waited for the prisoners’ release, Israeli settlers began rampaging through the West Bank carrying out “acts of revenge” in response to the ceasefire deal and the release of Palestinian prisoners. They set fire to vehicles and homes in the villages of Sinjil and Ein Siniya, while others damaged property in Turmus Ayya and attacked Palestinian cars near Al-Lubban Ash-Sharqiya.

The Israeli army had indicated before the ceasefire came into effect that it was “preparing for possible attacks in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] during the 42 days of the deal.” But it seemed unprepared — or unwilling to prepare — for the possibility that the violence would come from settlers.

‘There is no life in prison’

The best-known prisoner released yesterday was Khalida Jarrar, a 62-year old former member of the Palestinian Legislative Council representing the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Jarrar, who had served four previous prison terms, was held in administrative detention without charge or trial since December 2023. She has only one prior conviction for membership in the PFLP, and was held in solitary confinement for months during her latest period of incarceration.

When Jarrar stepped off the bus, she appeared exhausted and ill, struggling to speak. “It’s a difficult feeling. There is joy in being released, and I thank everyone for that,” she told reporters. “On the other hand, there is pain for the loss of so many martyrs [in Gaza]. Prison conditions are extremely harsh. I hope all prisoners will be freed.” Her family swiftly took her to the hospital for medical examinations.

All who spoke to the press emphasized the harsh conditions they suffered inside prison. “This is the first time in 14 months I’ve seen the moon not through bars; it feels very strange,” said Janin Amro, 23, who had been held in administrative detention at Damon Prison. “I want to return to my life, to study and work — I have one more year left at university,” she added, surrounded by family members who had placed a crown of flowers on her head.

“There is no life in prison,” Amro continued. “It was essentially a cemetery. You can’t see anything, there are no clothes, you don’t sleep well, [prison guards] enter the cells unexpectedly for inspections, use gas, and beat us. [The conditions are] unsuitable for humans; it’s very difficult there.” Before leaving with her family, she added: “I hope there will be many more deals and that everyone will come back.”

Hanan Malwani, 24, had been detained since September on suspicion of incitement and support for terrorism but had not yet been convicted. “We are being released today at the cost of the martyrs’ blood,” she said. “Our happiness is incomplete because of the people of Gaza, and we want to thank them for this achievement.”

Ola Joudeh, also 24, had been detained since June without conviction on suspicion of incitement and support for terrorism. “They told us: ‘Don’t say anything. If you speak, we’ll send you back to prison,” she explained. “It was very hard. They abused us, putting our heads on the ground [with our wrists] bound. They constantly entered the cells for raids and searches, taking all our belongings.” Hugging her father, she showed the marks on her wrists left by handcuffs.

Amal Shujaiya, 22, who was detained for seven months without conviction on suspicion of incitement and support for terrorism, described her transfer between prisons on the day of her release as “surreal. There was a strip search, and some women had their clothes taken from them.”

Despite its failure to prevent the celebrations, the Israeli army — perhaps under pressure from settler leaders — cut off almost every exit from Ramallah in the hours following the prisoners’ release, making it difficult for thousands to return home, including the released prisoners who do not live in the city. At some checkpoints there were hours-long queues, while others were closed completely. Similar closures occurred in other West Bank cities — implemented both by the army and settlers.

In a settler social media group chat formed ahead of the prisoners’ release, one member wrote: “A large number of the terrorists who were released will sleep in Ramallah tonight instead of at their houses because of the blockades set up by the righteous Jews who left their houses and didn’t let the terrorists roam freely under their feet!”

While enjoying the relief of being out of prison and reuniting with their families, many of the freed detainees will likely fear rearrest — as happened to several of the 150 Palestinians released in the November 2023 deal. A banner hanging from the gate outside Ofer Prison in Arabic, Hebrew, and English perhaps best expresses the spirit of Israel’s collective punishment of Palestinians, even as many of the prisoners inside are held without trial or charge. With an attribution to Psalms 18 (although the first part does not actually originate from the Bible) it reads: “The eternal nation does not forget. I will pursue my enemies and get them.”

A version of this article was first published in Hebrew on Local Call. Read it here.