Palestinian Internees: Embracing Freedom and the Glory of Resistance
The world bore witness as Gaza, the West Bank, and freedom-loving people everywhere celebrated a moment of victory—hundreds of Palestinian families, long torn apart by imprisonment, were finally reunited. As a result of the ceasefire agreement following the al-Aqsa Flood operation, hundreds of Palestinian detainees—both men and women—were released. Yet, this victory is just one milestone in the long and storied history of Palestinian resistance. Across decades, the struggle for freedom has persisted, never fading, only growing stronger with each passing chapter.
Historically, the first internee exchange between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Zionist entity took place on July 23, 1968. In this exchange, the Zionist enemy released 37 Palestinian internees serving long sentences in return for passengers of an Israeli airplane hijacked by the resistance. The aircraft, carrying over 100 passengers, was en route from Rome to Tel Aviv when it was seized.
This act of resistance, carried out by fighters Yusuf Al-Radhi and Leila Khaled of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), marked a turning point in the Palestinian struggle. It set the stage for a series of daring operations led by both Fatah and the PFLP, resulting in several historic prisoner exchanges with the occupying entity.
Among these, the most significant was orchestrated by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command, under its late leader Ahmad Jibril. On May 20, 1985, the Zionist entity released 1,155 Palestinian detainees in exchange for just three Zionist soldiers. This landmark event, known as the “Jibril Agreement,” secured the freedom of notable figures, including the Japanese revolutionary Kozo Okamoto and Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, the founder of Hamas.
For decades, Palestinian and Arab internees have remained a source of deep concern for Zionist jailers. Many among them were steadfast in their faith and unwavering in their commitment to the Palestinian cause. Seeking to eliminate these icons of resistance, the Israeli entity forcibly expelled 415 Palestinian detainees to Marj al-Zohour, a village in southern Lebanon, on December 17, 1992.
Yet, their story did not end in exile. Instead, these prisoners embarked on a new journey of resilience and defiance. The majority of them followed the resistance force Hamas, including the martyred leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Abdel Aziz Al-Rantisi. Refusing to accept their forced displacement, they established a camp at the Lebanese border and named it “Return,” reaffirming their right to go back to their homeland. Their struggle gained global attention, ultimately forcing the occupation to allow their return to Palestine.
A defining internee exchange came on October 11, 2011, in what became known as the “Shalit Deal.” The Hamas resistance captured Zionist soldier Gilad Shalit on June 25, 2006, holding him captive for five years despite multiple Israeli military offensives aimed at securing his release. The deal resulted in the release of Shalit in exchange for 1,047 Palestinian internees. Among them was the martyred leader Yahya Sinwar, who later became Hamas’s political chief and a key figure in the al-Aqsa Flood operation before his assassination.
On September 6, 2021, Palestinian internees once again reshaped history with a daring escape from the Zionist entity’s Gilboa Prison. Six members of the Islamic Jihad movement broke free in what became known as the “Freedom Tunnel” operation. In the face of ongoing Israeli repression, Palestinian detainees launched hunger strikes as a form of resistance. One such fighter, Khader Adnan, embraced martyrdom on May 2, 2023, after 86 days of hunger strike inside the occupation’s prisons.
Through decades of sacrifice and resilience, Palestinian internees have remained a symbol of unwavering resistance. Their struggle continues to be at the heart of the fight for justice, embodying the unbreakable spirit of a people who refuse to surrender their right to freedom and dignity.