Palestinians in West Bank await prisoner release after ceasefire deal

The families of 90 Palestinian prisoners are waiting anxiously in the occupied West Bank for them to be released from Israeli jails as part of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Hundreds have packed into the town square in Beitunia, about one mile (1.6km) up the road from Israel’s Ofer prison, waving Palestinian flags and chanting.

Amid an atmosphere of excitement and nervous anticipation Diash Dara was waiting for her sister Hadil.

The 32-year-old university administrative worker has been detained without charge for seven months.

“I’m happy, I think, confused a little bit because of what happened in Gaza,” Diash told the BBC.

“The most important thing is that they stopped the war in Gaza. Even if she wasn’t released today, we [would] be ok with it. But at least the war has been ended.”

The majority of the 90 Palestinian prisoners expected to be released on Sunday are women, as well as a number of children.

Over the next six weeks, there will be more anxious days.

Around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Gaza are due to be released in the first phase of the deal in exchange for 33 Israeli hostages, including the three women freed by Hamas in Gaza on Sunday afternoon.

One of the most high-profile prisoners is Zakaria Zubaidi, the former leader of the armed group al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

The 49-year-old has served time in both Israeli and Palestinian jails for multiple offences, including murder.

He said he carried out a shooting attack in 2002 in which six Israelis were killed.

Zubaidi was also in the news in 2021, when he tunnelled out of an Israeli prison before being recaptured after five days.