Emotional reunions as first 90 Palestinian prisoners freed
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Hundreds descended upon an occupied West Bank town to greet the prisoners, who were met with fireworks, cheers and embraces. Copy link. twitter. facebook. whatsapp. As two buses carrying Palestinian prisoners freed from an Israeli jail pulled up in the occupied West Bank town of Beitunia early on Monday, they were met with cheers, chants and honking horns.
The buses held some of the 90 prisoners released as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal that began Sunday and saw three Israeli hostages freed by Hamas. According to journalists at the scene, members of the crowd climbed atop the lead bus and unfurled a Hamas flag.
They were joined by others waving the flags of Fatah, Islamic Jihad and several other Palestinian factions, as well as the Palestinian national flag. Hundreds gathered to greet the prisoners, who stepped off the buses to fireworks and whistles, and shouts of “God is great”.
Reunions were emotional, with family and friends waiting for hours outside before greeting their loved ones, some being hoisted onto shoulders or embraced. One of the prisoners released, Shatha Jarabaa, 24, described the prison conditions as “horrible”, with many others claiming they were tortured throughout their detainment.
Ms Jarabaa was arrested over a social media post which criticised the “brutality” of Israel’s war in Gaza. “I’m very happy! Thank God I’m outside. They treated me very bad in prison. It was horrible,” she told the Guardian. Her father, Nawaf Jarabaa, 63, said his daughter had been arrested “simply for expressing her ideas”, as the pair reunited.
