Families of Palestinian prisoners waiting for 'nightmare to end'

Muhammad al-Khasib from Ramallah, son of prisoner Dalal al-Khasib, 53, told Middle East Eye that his family were eagerly awaiting his mother’s release on Sunday.

From a hill overlooking Ofer Prison, he explained that the Israeli army had prevented people from gathering at the prison’s courtyard, firing tear gas at anyone who approached.

“My mother was arrested a year ago and is still in detention without a sentence. The Israeli prosecution demanded that she be imprisoned for 55 months, but today she will come out with the exchange deal and this nightmare will end,” Khasib said.

He said that he expected the prisoner release to occur late at night, but that it would not matter to families who had waited months or years. 

Khasib’s cousin, Muhammad Saqr, was waiting with him. He is the son of prisoner Fatima Khasib, Dalal’s sister. 

Dalal and Fatima are the sisters of the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh Al-Arouri, who was assassinated by Israel in Lebanon a year ago. 

Alaa, 20, Fatima’s daughter, is also a prisoner and is scheduled to be released on Sunday. She was arrested a month and a half ago near the entrance of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

"No matter how late the release is, we will continue to wait until the morning. This is a mountain that was perched on our chests and will be removed as soon as we see the female prisoners enjoying their freedom," Saqr said.

Khasib said that nothing he and his family endured could be compared to the suffering of those in Gaza, “not even the smallest child among them whose hand or leg was amputated”. 

“We will not fulfill what they gave for the sake of the prisoners,” he said.