More than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails are preparing for their first taste of release. Many of these detainees have been held in Israeli prisons for years without charge.
It is unclear how many Palestinian prisoners are being released under the ceasefire agreement in exchange for Israelis held hostage in Gaza.
The written details of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas have not yet been released. However, various media reports have reported different proportions of the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
The ratio depends on whether Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails are serving life sentences.
According to the Commission on Palestinian Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners and the Palestine Prisoners’ Society, there are currently 10,400 Palestinians in Israeli jails. They do not include Palestinians detained in Gaza during the 15-month conflict.
Israel’s Justice Ministry on Sunday released a list of 95 Palestinian women and children prisoners to be released as a ceasefire agreement is implemented. However, the names of the prisoners who will be released are not known.
According to the outline of the agreement, they will not be released before 4 pm local time today.
According to media reports, the list released by Israel shows that a large number of Palestinians have been arrested since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Fewer than 10 Palestinians were arrested before the attack.
Israeli Army Radio said Khalida Jarrar was among the Palestinian prisoners to be released today. He is the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), an organization in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinians are calling for the release of several more high-profile prisoners. Some of them are serving life sentences.
One of them is Marwan Barghouti, the leader of the Palestinian organization Fatah. His long-awaited release has been repeatedly blocked by Israeli authorities.
Al Jazeera contacted Marwan’s representatives and family members on Friday. They said they were hopeful of Marwan’s release. But they did not get any information about his possible release.
Another high-profile Palestinian prisoner is PFLP chief Ahmed Sadat. In 2001, he was accused by Israel of ordering the assassination of then-Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevy. Israel’s Justice Ministry initially concluded that there was not enough evidence to indict him.