Samar Faisal stood among the crowd in a fresh winter air, trembling as much of his excitement as the cold. She was in disbelief, she said, that this day came. After spending more than 20 years in Israeli prison, her brother was released.
“I’m worried and I pray for a moment to finally see him,” said Mrs. Faisal, while volunteers in fluorescent vests rushed. Her brother was in prison for fighting in an armed wing of the popular front for the liberation of Palestine, which indicate the terrorist group of the United States and the European Union.
Mrs. Faisal was among the Palestinian families gathered on the western coast of the city of Ramallah on Thursday, eagerly waiting to welcome more than 100 Palestinian prisoners released from Israel in a hostage exchange held in Gaza. It was the third replacement of a prisoner’s hostage in a constant agreement on the termination of fire between Israel and Hamas. During the first 42 days of the agreement, Hamas pledged to release at least 33 hostages in exchange for more than 1500 Palestinians in Israel prison.
Standing in front of the Government Recreation Center, people restlessly checked their phones for news or calls of loved ones who were concerned about updates.
Finally, around 7 pm there was a bus chain that carried dozens of Palestinian prisoners, including some who were convicted of deadly attacks against Israeli. Sixty -seven prisoners arrived in Ramallah on Thursday, including 27 children, officials said. 14 more arrived in Jerusalem and nine in Gaza, while 20 were sent to Egypt.
Earlier that day, Hamas published eight Israeli and Thai hostages held in Gaza.
For some waiting outside the recreation center, their anticipation was mitigated by sadness.
Alaa Zubeidi waited with her sisters and friends, all dressed in black clothing sorrow in memory of her eldest son Mohammad, who was killed in September by Israeli strike of drones in the city of West Bank City of Tubas.
She was waiting for her husband Zakariya Zubeidi, a former militant theater directors, who is an Israeli forces arrested in 2019. He became famous for both Israel and in Palestinian territories in 2019 for 2019 briefly avoiding Israeli prison.
The Zubeidi family of Israeli forces were drawn from a house in Jenin after Mohammad’s death, and Mrs. Zubeidi and two of her other children, Samira and Ayham, were arrested and detained for a few hours. Since then, she said, Palestinian security surgery has left them that they cannot return home.
But these concerns eclipse joy after the release of Mr. Zubeidija on Thursday, when the people in the crowd raised him to their shoulders and sang his name.
Looking, Mr. Zubeidi flashed with both hands a sign of victory.
“May God protect Jenin’s camp at the moment,” the crowd said. “Today is a public referendum for the benefit of the fighters.”
