Palestinian Prisoner Release

Chandra Muzaffar

The International Movement for a Just World (JUST) shares the joy expressed by many Palestinians over the release from Israeli jails of 90 Palestinian prisoners. The release is part of the Ceasefire Agreement reached between Hamas on behalf of the Palestinian people and the Israeli government on Sunday, 19th January 2025. According to Samidoun, the Palestinian Political Prisoner Network, some 1737 prisoners, both male and female, are expected to be freed from Israeli occupation jails over the next 42 days. The next release will be on the 25th of January 2025.

These Palestinian prisoners are being exchanged for Israelis and others taken captive by Hamas and affiliated groups on 7 th October 2023 when they launched an attack upon Israelis occupying the border areas with Palestinian communities. In exchange, Israelis and others will be freed in stages. 3 women have already been released.

Some journalists have observed that the freed Israeli prisoners appear to be in good health in contrast to some of the Palestinian women released at the same time.

In spite of the Ceasefire which is supposed to cover the whole of Palestine, Palestinians are still being assassinated. The Jenin refugee camp on the West Bank for instance has witnessed multiple Palestinian deaths. This has happened in past ceasefire agreements too in which Palestinians continued to be killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers.

Nonetheless, one hopes that there will be no major breakdown in the ceasefire this time and the prisoner exchanges will continue till the next two phases are completed. Sincere implementation of the agreement especially on the part of the Israeli government should lead to the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state. The form that such a state would take should be determined by Palestinians themselves including the millions who are part of the Palestinian diaspora. The rest of the human family can help Palestinians to achieve this goal by accelerating their struggle to ensure that Israel not only adheres to the rule of law and respects the rights of all Palestinians as fellow human beings but also demonstrates a genuine commitment to the principles of justice which is the only durable foundation for peace in West Asia (including Israel) and the world at large.

Dr Chandra Muzaffar,

President,

International Movement for a Just World (JUST).

Malaysia.