Joy in Israel, restrictions in Palestine for released captives, prisoners

In Israel, the release of captives from Gaza has been celebrated, each welcomed home to scenes of joy on the streets of the country.

Palestinians, on the other hand, were told that no such thing was to be allowed for their prisoners released by Israel. In fact, any attempt at welcoming home the prisoners was explicitly banned by Israel.

In an incident highlighting the tensions, Israeli army launched a retaliatory operation just one day after the release of Ashraf Zghair, a 46-year-old Palestinian who had been imprisoned since the age of 23 and was serving six life sentences.

When neighbours and family members openly celebrated Zghair’s release on Saturday, January 25, authorities arrested his brother Amir, a father of four.

Mounir Zghair, the official spokesperson for the Jerusalem Prisoners of War Association and Ashraf’s father, condemned the arrest in an interview.

“The arrest of my son has no legal basis,” he said. “We were not officially informed about what rules we were supposedly violating.”

This incident epitomises the broader pattern of restrictions imposed on Palestinian prisoners and their families. One family, speaking on condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation, revealed the extent of these limitations

“We are not allowed to host reception parties or distribute sweets,” the family told Al Jazeera. “The released detainees are also banned from speaking to any form of media under the threat of re-arrest. It’s the occupation’s way of restricting prisoners’ freedom even after their release.”

Israel has framed the release of Palestinian prisoners as a necessary evil and brokered through an agreement with a “terrorist organisation”. It therefore considers any celebration of their release to be support for “terrorism”.

“The consequences of celebrating are many, including the arrest of released prisoners’ family members for supporting a terror organisation, as in the case of Ashraf Zghair’s brother, who was arrested for welcoming his released brother with ‘green flags’,” said Mohamed Mahmoud, a lawyer who works on Palestinian prisoner cases. Hamas’s flag is green, but so are many other flags representing Palestinian groups or Islamic causes.