Palestinians in West Bank await prisoner release after ceasefire deal
The families of 90 Palestinian prisoners are anxiously awaiting their release from Israeli prisons in the occupied West Bank as part of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Hundreds of people crowded into the town square of Betuniya, about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from Israel’s Ofer prison, waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans.
In an atmosphere of excitement and nervous anticipation, Diyash Dara is waiting for her sister Hadir.
The 32-year-old university administrator was detained for seven months without being charged.
“I guess, I’m happy, but I’m a little bit confused because of what’s going on in Gaza,” Diash told the BBC.
“The most important thing is that they stopped the war in Gaza. Even if she was not released today, we wouldn’t mind. But at least the war is over.”
Of the 90 Palestinian prisoners expected to be released on Sunday, most are women and some are children.
The next six weeks would bring more anxious days.
The first phase of the deal will see the release of some 1,900 Gaza Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange for 33 hostages, including three women released by Hamas in Gaza on Sunday afternoon.
One of the most high-profile prisoners is Zakaria Zubaidi, the former leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
The 49-year-old has served time in Israeli and Palestinian prisons for a number of crimes including murder.
He said he carried out a shooting attack in 2002 that killed six Israelis.
Zubaidi was also in the news in 2021 when he tunneled out of an Israeli prison and was recaptured five days later.
