Jerusalem - Together Report - Historical moments experienced by the city of Jerusalem, in the wake of a humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip, between the joy of liberation from captivity and the suppression of any signs of joy, 6 female Jerusalemite prisoners arrived at their homes, after years and months of captivity. They were liberated on the first day of the “exchange deal.” ".
Incomplete joy at the killing and destruction taking place in the Gaza Strip, and the pain of what the female prisoners have experienced since the seventh of last October, was the most prominent thing they spoke about and dominated them during their meetings with their family, friends, and the media. The female prisoners carried with them the concerns and stories of the prisoners, and their daily suffering.
In an attempt to silence their voices, the forces tried to intimidate them and their families. By storming homes and summoning them to arrest centers and detaining them for long hours.
Amani Al-Hasheem, Malak Salman, Marah Bakir, Nihaya Sawan, Zeina Abdo, and Samira Al-Harbai were surprised today by the inclusion of their names in the “exchange deal” lists, after storming the rooms in the early morning hours and informing them of this.
The young freed prisoner, Zeina Abdo - who has been detained since last September - said what happened to them: “The prison director stormed into the room, I was sleeping, and gave me the right to prepare myself within 5 minutes for release. I left the room and was able to say a quick farewell to the female prisoners, then we were transferred to the waiting rooms, from which To the Al-Mascobiyya Police Station, waiting for long hours, and the release procedures extended for 12 hours.”
She explained that the forces transferred the female prisoners to special sections in Damoun Prison “to photograph them, take fingerprints, and complete the release procedures, then to Al-Maskobiyah, where we were released.”
As for the liberated prisoner, Amani Al-Hashim, she said: “I dreamed moments, that I returned to my home and was able to embrace my child and my father, that I am sitting in these moments in the family home, and words cannot describe what the prisoner feels when he is liberated from prison.”
Regarding the conditions of the female prisoners on October 7, Al-Hashem explained: “With the beginning of the war, two decisions were reached in the prisons: to starve the prisoners, to torture the prisoners, and to translate them on the ground, which was harsh on us, and it was not taken into account that we are women and have our privacy.”
She said, "The occupation carried out the most severe and brutal operations of repression, including beatings, abuse, gassing, withdrawing food from the rooms and the cantina, and bringing food in small quantities, which affected the health condition of the female prisoners. As for the water, it was from the tap, full of chlorine, rust, and dust."
As for the prisoner Marah Bakir, who was arrested after being injured in her hand in 2015 and sentenced to 8 and a half years in prison, she was isolated since the beginning of the war in Jalama Prison and said: “Our room was stormed and we were attacked with gas and beaten, then I was isolated. There were repeated beatings and an attempt to remove the hijab while I was tied, and I was isolated for... Over the past few days.”
Bakir said: "All the basic daily necessities of the female prisoners were withdrawn. All the rooms were turned into isolation rooms. There is no food or privacy for the female prisoners, continuous oppression and abuse."
As for the prisoner Malak Salman, who was sentenced to 10 years in actual prison, she said: “My sentence ends in 2025, and now I am among family members and in my home. I cannot believe these moments. It is a huge shock. The occupation tried to disturb us through the release procedures that extended for hours, but meeting with the family Embracing its members is joy.”
Since Friday morning, the intelligence summoned "a person from the family of every female Jerusalemite prisoner" for investigation at the "Rooms 4" center. Upon their arrival at the center, they were informed of the names of the female prisoners who were to be released, with conditions such as prohibiting gatherings in the streets, and prohibiting the launching of firecrackers or raising flags and flags.
The forces detained the families of the female prisoners from noon until the evening, “until the time of release.” At approximately seven o’clock in the evening, they transferred each person to a private intelligence vehicle and forced them to sit in it. Within minutes, the female prisoners were transferred to the vehicles, and each family was delivered to their home, under tight restrictions, inside a car. Intelligence prevents families from hugging female captives or talking to them inside the vehicle, and attempts to assault them by pushing or hitting them.
Today, the forces stormed the home of the Abdo family, Al-Hashim, and Bakir, and were stationed in the vicinity of the Salman family home, and tried to prevent the families and neighbors from reaching the homes of the freed prisoners.
When the home of the Al-Hashim and Bakir family was raided, they prevented anyone from being in the house, except for family members.
The families of the prisoners are awaiting the second day of the truce, and the lists of male and female prisoners who are scheduled to be released, noting that the list of the “Israeli Ministry of Justice” included 79 prisoners from the city of Jerusalem who hold “Israeli ID,” 6 of whom were released today.
Source: Maan News Agency