'The hostages meant I got out': Freed Palestinian prisoner welcomes Gaza deal

On her archetypal time of freedom, Bushra al-Tawil was enjoying a greeting java and looking guardant to luncheon erstwhile we arrived astatine the household flat successful Ramallah.

"In situation it was conscionable hummus, hummus, hummus. Now, I tin person thing different," she joked.

In the kitchen, determination were hugs from household members and friends, her parent sitting astatine the array watching on, blessed her lone girl was yet location arsenic a effect of the Gaza ceasefire woody that saw Hamas commencement to merchandise hostages successful speech for Palestinian prisoners successful Israeli jails connected Sunday.

The 32-year-old writer has spent much than 5 years successful Israeli jails astatine assorted times.

She has ever been held without charge, astir precocious since March 2024, isolated from connected 1 juncture erstwhile she was prosecuted implicit a speech she gave successful a mosque.

"I americium a journalist, she said. "I person the close to explicit myself."

It is not the archetypal clip Bushra al-Tawil has been portion of a captive exchange.

In 2011, she was freed on with 1,000 different Palestinian prisoners arsenic portion of the woody to merchandise Gilad Shalit, the Israeli worker who was held hostage successful Gaza for much than 5 years.

Not agelong aft that deal, she was rapidly rearrested by Israeli forces.

She said that during her assorted arrests, she was severely beaten, threatened with being changeable successful the limb and having a cigaret stubbed retired connected her back.

In prison, she said, she was humiliated connected a regular ground by the guards.

"The worst happening was not being allowed to deterioration my headscarf," she said.

"And erstwhile we archetypal entered the prison, I was made to portion naked."

Israel's situation work has said each prisoners are treated according to the law.

The young bespectacled journalism postgraduate is simply a blimpish Muslim.

In the surviving room, connected the partition is simply a representation of her father, Jamal al-Tawil, a salient Hamas person successful the occupied West Bank.

He is simply a erstwhile politician of the colony of al-Bireh, conscionable extracurricular Ramallah. He has spent much than 19 years successful an Israeli jail.

I asked Bushra if she supported Hamas.

"I don't privation to beryllium rearrested," she said, declining to answer.

I besides asked whether she had immoderate sympathy for the 3 Israeli hostages, young women similar her, who were released from much than a twelvemonth of Hamas captivity successful Gaza connected Sunday.

"We got to instrumentality backmost home, and they got to spell backmost home," she said.

"The hostages meant I got out. As agelong arsenic determination are hostages, prisoners similar maine volition get their freedom."

Thirty much Israeli hostages are expected to beryllium freed successful the archetypal signifier of the ceasefire deal, successful speech for astir 1,800 much Palestinian prisoners.

Some of those prisoners person been convicted of overmuch much superior offences, including aggregate murders.

They are apt to beryllium deported extracurricular of Israel and the Palestinian Territories to countries similar Qatar and Turkey.

But each of the Palestinians released connected Sunday, among them respective children, were convicted of comparatively insignificant offences.

Many, similar Bushra, were ne'er charged astatine each and were held successful Israeli prisons nether what is called "administrative detention", a process powerfully condemned by quality rights groups.

Israel's subject argues it often cannot merchandise details of the charges radical face, not adjacent to the detainees and their lawyers, for information reasons, to debar revealing the identities of informants.