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In the early hours of Sunday, November 26, Maysoon Musa, known as the senior Palestinian woman detainee and the longest-held female prisoner in Israeli prisons, made her way to Al-Bireh city in the central West Bank. This arrival marked her inclusion in the second group released under a prisoner swap agreement between Hamas and Israeli authorities. Her homecoming was met with extensive celebrations by her family and local residents, who displayed victory banners in her honor.
Maysoon told Muwatin just hours after her release, ‘There is no joy as long as Palestine is sad.. There is no joy as long as our country is occupied.. But we say thank God for freedom. Surely, life outside the prison is better; even if we live on rubble, tomorrow will be reconstructed. May God grant victory to Gaza and its people.”
Maysoon faced arrest on June 29, 2015, and received a 15-year prison sentence following her stabbing an Israeli soldier at the Rachel’s Dome checkpoint (Bilal Mosque) close to Bethlehem.
Her imprisonment interrupted her university education; she was in her first year studying English Literature at Al-Quds University. Despite this setback, Maysoon continued her studies via distance learning, eventually completing her education in the Social Work Department.
Death seemed to enclose us from every angle. The soldiers yelled at us, subjecting us to severe and savage beatings. They confined us to cells and withheld food, allotting one plate for every seven of us and a single blanket for every two people.
How were the Palestinian detainees informed about Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and the events unfolding outside the detention facilities? How did they get updates from outside, and was there a change in the way the occupation authorities treated them following October 7? Upon their release from the detention centers, what emotions did they experience upon witnessing the devastation in Gaza?
Intensified Repression in Occupation Prisons Post-Al-Aqsa Flood
The oppression from the occupation authorities reached even the cells and prison yards, met with resistance from Palestinian detainees. Hanan Barghouthi, known as Umm Anad, revered as both a mother and sister to prisoners—given that six of her sons and brothers are held in Israeli prisons—shared with Muwatin, ‘Violence against the prisoners surged dramatically following the October 7 events. The occupying forces allowed all manners of abuse, signaling to the detainees that they had carte blanche.’
At 59, Barghouti is the sibling of renowned Palestinian detainee Nael Barghouti, who has endured 44 years in Israeli custody and was recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2019 for the longest political imprisonment globally. She was arrested four months ago without formal charges before being shifted to administrative detention from the town of Kober in Ramallah.
She remarks, ‘They concoct charges and subject prisoners to all manners of torture. My brother and four of my sons are incarcerated. My heart aches for them. May God ease their confinement. Following October 7, we endured torture, were deprived of medicine and food, and some female detainees were subjected to naked searches and assaults.’
The newly freed Palestinian child, Qusay Hani Taqqa, shares, ‘Death seemed to enclose us from every angle. The soldiers yelled at us, subjecting us to severe and savage beatings. They confined us to cells and withheld food, allotting one plate for every seven of us and a single blanket for every two people.’
At seven in the morning, we learned of the news and the operation of October 7th. After that, the prison administration deliberately isolated us from the world, cutting off all electrical devices so that we wouldn't know the news. But despite the oppression, we celebrated because we now had hope for survival.
He further told Muwatin, ‘They removed the organization responsible for looking after children within the prisons, leaving us in the sole company of soldiers amid an overwhelming state of fear. It felt as though we were facing death at every moment.’
Regarding the released Palestinian detainee Aseel Al-Titi, she characterizes her experience in Israeli detention as grim and severe. She explains, “Despite my youth, it was a challenging ordeal. For the first time, I found myself separated from my family, my community, and my siblings, thinking that imprisonment is meant for men, not women.”
She recounts, “At the time of my arrest, I was twenty-one and a half years old and received a 15-year sentence, which was not enforced due to the outbreak of war.” Her detention stemmed from a confrontation with an Israeli soldier during a visit to see her brother with her mother in prison, where a search was requested. When the female soldier attempted to compel her to remove her hijab, she was met with brutal assault —according to her account.
When Al-Titi attempted to defend herself, she ended up being detained. Her mother and her other brother were also captured; however, they were released after eight days. Aseel, on the other hand, stayed in prison for a year and three months before she was finally freed from the occupation’s detention facilities.
How Did They Learn About Events Outside the Occupation Bars?
Rawda says: “At seven in the morning, we learned of the news and the operation of October 7th. After that, the prison administration deliberately isolated us from the world, cutting off all electrical devices so that we wouldn’t know the news. But despite the oppression, we celebrated because we now had hope for survival.”
She continues: “We would get news through the girls who were arrested after October 7th, and we were shocked by the number of martyrs in the Gaza war. The feeling of freedom is indescribable, yet it’s mixed with profound sadness because the price of freedom is very high, paid for with the blood of martyrs, women, and children.”
According to the data, the number of prisoners in occupation jails is about 7,000, including 62 female prisoners, while exact numbers for child detainees are not available.
And she notes, finally, that she still fears for her life and safety, especially after being informed that a member of the Israeli Knesset has filed a complaint against her, accusing her of incitement against Israelis. She does not yet know the origin of this accusation.
The occupation authorities had charged Rawda with offenses related to what is termed ‘endangering the security of Israel.’ She was arrested on the fourth of April last year and spent seven months and twenty-five days in the occupation’s prisons before being released a few days ago.
How were the Moments of Release?
The recently released Palestinian child, Yazan Hassounat, shared with Muwatin, “We were taken by surprise about our release. They moved us to Ofer Prison without any prior notice, and we remained there for 3 or 4 hours. After that, the Red Cross took custody of us. It was so surreal, we could hardly believe it, but thank God for freedom.”
He clarifies, “I was detained by Israel twice; the first time at 17 for a year, and more recently for four months before being released in the recent prisoner swap.”
Hanan Barghouthi confirms Yazan’s story, noting that the female detainees also were not told in advance about their release and were cut off from any news of the outside world due to the prison administration blocking all communication. They, too, were held at Ofer Prison for several hours before being handed over to the Red Cross.”
And she adds: ‘We rejoiced at being released from the Israeli detention centers, but our hearts are in pain. Tens of thousands have died, and our children and siblings are still in the prisons. I will go to the families of the martyrs and console them, and I know how to comfort them because my brother is a martyr, and my nephew is a martyr, and my brother is the longest-held prisoner in the world.'”
Israa Al-Titi also confirms, “The joy of being released from the detention centers was incomplete because of the destruction we witnessed in Gaza. We were shocked because we had been isolated and hadn’t seen any of this or known anything about what was happening outside.”
A New Victory for the Resistance
The occupation authorities carried out 2,070 arrests in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, during the month of October 2023, among them 145 children and more than 55 women. Also, 1,034 administrative detention orders, issued without specific charges based on secret or intelligence information, are referred to as repressive measures by human rights organizations.
According to the data, the number of prisoners in occupation jails is about 7,000, including 62 female prisoners, while exact numbers for child detainees are not available.
Despite Israel and its supporters boasting that it is the only democracy in the Middle East region, this does not embellish Israel’s repressive image in carrying out arrests without charges, in addition to mistreating prisoners and not treating them according to international laws and human rights charters.
Amid a shared consensus among Palestinian detainees about their mistreatment and the oppressive conduct of the occupation forces, Israeli security agencies have been actively trying to prevent former Israeli captives held by Hamas from appearing in the media. This effort is due to the captives’ testimonies regarding the humane treatment they purportedly received from the resistance factions, which contrasts with the accusations of poor treatment in Israeli prisons and reflects a new media defeat for the occupation, whose reality is uncovered and its lies about itself in this war fall away day by day.