More than a thousand Palestinian prisoners, many of whom have been held without charge for years in the Israeli prison system, are preparing to taste freedom for the first time.

The exact number of prisoners to be released in exchange for Israeli prisoners held in Gaza is unclear. The text of the ceasefire agreement has not yet been published, and details published by the media indicate different prisoner-to-prisoner exchange rates, depending on whether the Palestinian prisoners are serving life sentences or not.

There are currently 10,400 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, not including those arrested from Gaza during the last 15 months of the conflict, according to the Palestinian Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Association.

The Israeli Ministry of Justice issued a list of the names of 95 Palestinian women and children scheduled to be released on Sunday if the implementation of the ceasefire agreement begins, but in addition, the names of the prisoners who will be released are not known.

According to the broad outlines of the deal, they will not be released before Sunday at 4pm local time (14:00 GMT).

The list of names published by Israel shows that the vast majority of them were arrested after the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, according to media reports. Fewer than 10 were arrested before the attacks.

The first stage

During the first phase of the three-stage agreement between Hamas and Israel, more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners will be exchanged for the remaining 33 Israeli prisoners, whose total number is estimated at about 100.

Under the terms of the agreement, Palestinian prisoners will be released in exchange for Israeli prisoners according to the ratios agreed upon between the two sides and international mediators in Doha.

According to reports, 110 Palestinian prisoners sentenced by Israeli courts to life imprisonment will be exchanged for nine sick and wounded Israeli prisoners. In addition, Israeli men over the age of 50 will be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners The ratio is 1:3 for those sentenced to life imprisonment, and 1:27 For those serving other sentences.

Previous prisoner exchanges

Prisoners have long been used as currency in Israel’s dealings with Palestinian groups.

during Peace talks faltered in 2013Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the time that Israel had agreed to the gradual release of more than 100 Palestinians in a move aimed at strengthening negotiations.

but, Closer to the current exchange This can be found in the 1983 prisoner exchanges, when more than 4,500 Palestinian prisoners were released in exchange for six Israeli soldiers. Likewise, in 1985, about 1,150 Palestinian prisoners were exchanged for three Israeli soldiers. The current exchange is also similar in scope to the more famous prisoner exchange, which included the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011.

Gilad Shalit exchange

1,027 Palestinian prisoners were exchanged in 2011 for Shalit, who was captured by Hamas in a 2006 cross-border raid and held for five years as negotiations for his release faltered.

In 2014, the Israeli government admitted that it had rearrested 51 of these prisoners after the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank. In explaining those arrests later, Netanyahu made no attempt to link the detainees to the missing teenagers, saying only that their kidnapping sent an “important message” to Hamas.

Notable prisoners

Israeli Army Radio reported that Khaleda Jarrar, a leader in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the occupied West Bank, is among the Palestinian prisoners who will be released on Sunday.

The Palestinians are also demanding the release of several other high-profile prisoners, including some serving life sentences.

Among them is one of the leading figures in the Palestinian Fatah movement. Marwan Barghouti, The Israeli authorities have repeatedly prevented their long-awaited release. The release of Barghouti, who in 2006 helped draft the Palestinian Prisoners’ Document, which brought many disparate Palestinian factions together, could have important ramifications for Palestinian politics, as the unifying figure Time and time again he comes out on top When Palestinians are asked who they would vote for in any upcoming presidential elections.

Barghouti’s representatives, including his family members, contacted by Al Jazeera on Friday, said that while they were optimistic, they had not received any information about his possible release.

Another prominent Palestinian prisoner is Ahmed Saadat, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who was accused by Israel of ordering the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi in ​​2001, although the Justice Ministry initially determined there was no crime. There is not enough evidence To charge him with murder.

What did the prisoners suffer?

While the locations where many prisoners scheduled for release are being held are unknown, human rights groups have long expressed concern about conditions within Israel’s prison system.

In August, the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem published an extensive report detailing a network of Israeli detention facilities that it described as “torture camps.” The international non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch also published Reports on the Israeli prison system in July and August detail rape, the exchange of sexual images of Palestinian prisoners, including children, and the systematic torture of detainees.

In July 2024, the Israeli minister responsible for the prison system, far-right politician Itamar Ben Gvir, announced splurge And that “everything published about the miserable conditions to which Palestinians are exposed in Israeli prisons is true.”

There are also more than 3,000 Palestinian prisoners in prisons Administrative detentionThat is, they are detained without trial or charge.