Palestinian prisoner released after 19 years lives in tent as his home reduced to rubble

Record ID: 1969764

  • Title: Palestinian prisoner released after 19 years lives in tent as his home reduced to rubble
  • Date: 18th April 2025
  • Summary: Palestinian prisoner released after 19 years lives in tent as his home reduced to rubble SHOTLIST: KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA STRIP, PALESTINE (APR. 17, 2025) (ANADOLU - ACCESS ALL) 1. RELEASED PRISONER MUHAMMED AL-BEHABISA WALKING OUT OF TENT HAND TO HAND WITH WIFE IKRAM 2. VARIOUS OF MUHAMMED, IKRAM SITTING, TAKING WITH OTHERS 3. MUHAMMED, IKRAM IN TENT 4. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RELEASED PRISONER MUHAMMED AL-BAHABISA SAYING: "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. I am Muhammad Yasser Eid al-Bahabt in Muharram. I am 44 years old. I spent 19 years in prison. My sentence ended, and I remained in prison for 8 months after my sentence ended. I was released in the seventh batch of the first phase. This feeling is something every prisoner awaits eagerly. It's an indescribable feeling, a truly beautiful feeling. The moment of freedom is like a new birth, a new birth in the life of a prisoner. Amidst the difficult circumstances we live in, these circumstances are extremely tough and can't be described. When you're in such conditions and receive news of your release, it's a joy that words can't fully capture, an overwhelming happiness. Before the October 7, prisoners had previously experienced a sort of aggression from the prison administration that, to put it mildly, could be described as brutal. A more accurate description would lie somewhere between barbaric, savage, oppressive, and tyrannical. These actions stripped away every aspect of prisoners' lives. They confiscated all their belongings, leaving only the clothes they wore, a cover and mattress, a toothbrush and paste, shampoo, and a Quran. Anything beyond these essentials was confiscated, even taken with force. After October 7, prisoners' lives transformed drastically. Everything that was previously achieved through negotiation with the prison administration was taken away. Privileges like going out for fresh air, owning electrical appliances in their rooms, and having means of communication or media access were all abolished. The inmates no longer prepared their own food; the administration took over, providing limited food for a significantly increased number of inmates. For example, food meant for 120 inmates was distributed among 250. This created a calculated starvation system, a form of collective punishment. Even when prisoners filed complaints or lawsuits regarding the food inadequacy, the administration claimed that the prevailing "state of emergency" justified their actions, ignoring legal obligations and prisoners' rights. The food situation remained as it was - scarce and barely enough to keep someone on their feet. The humiliation of prisoners was evident. Any prisoner known among the inmates for their dignity and respect would be targeted. They would be seized and humiliated in front of everyone. There are names I won't mention, dignified individuals with a history of struggle, older individuals who were dragged out, tortured, and humiliated, thrown to the ground in a degrading manner. These are people of advanced age, who have spent many years in incarceration and are serving life sentences. To degrade them in such a heinous way is a crime against humanity. This is not to mention the verbal abuse, beatings, raids, and degrading searches they endured. Punishments were dealt out for the smallest reasons, affecting either an individual or an entire room, or even a whole section. From the start of the war until around September, I knew nothing about my family. I had to mentally prepare myself for any outcome, even the possibility of not finding them. I constantly prepared myself mentally for both possibilities. This was incredibly hard. For prisoners from Gaza, our lifeline was the freed prisoners in the West Bank. They could connect with our families, relay updates through a lawyer or other means, and send word to the prison about their situation. This distress extended for months. Sometimes it would take months before you'd hear about your family's situation, like whether they were still alive or if they had been affected by bombings. We had some brothers like Yasser Abul Dugga and Wissam Radi. They faced calamities. Yasser lost all his family members in a single bombing. It was catastrophic. Every prisoner was anxious about such scenarios, wondering what would happen if they were in Yasser's position. During these wartime periods, anxiety and fear were constant, especially as your own life was at risk. In the life of a prisoner, there's no comfort in sleep, food, daily living, or anything. Everything in your life is controlled and limited. In Gaza, we would constantly struggle to catch news. They used to promote the idea that Gaza was a "big prison," as if you were moving from one prison to another. While acknowledging Gaza's difficult conditions—blockade, overpopulation, poverty, need—we still longed to return. Despite all these challenges, I wanted to go back to Gaza because we missed it, and everyone dreamed of reaching it. Gaza holds a significant place as an emblem of honor for every Muslim around the world. For me, Gaza is like paradise, despite the displacement, war, poverty, and hunger. To me, it's a beautiful paradise. 5. MOHAMMED'S WIFE IKRAM AL- BEHABISA SPEAKING TO REPORTER (Arabic) 6. MOHAMMED, IKRAM SITTING, TALKING SCRIPT Former Palestinian prisoner Muhammad al-Behabisa's dreams during his 19 years in Israeli prisons were buried under the rubble of his house, which was destroyed in Israeli attacks. 44-year-old Behabisa , who was released in the latest prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas in February, shared his experiences during and after imprisonment in an interview with an Anadolu correspondent on April 17, Palestinian Prisoners Day. He stated that his house was destroyed during Israel's ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip and that after his release, he began struggling to survive in a make shift tent without access to even the most basic necessities. Behabisa said that he has spent 19 years in Israeli prisons, living in indescribable conditions but the feeling of freedom was like a rebirth for him and all the prisoners waiting for that moment. He noted that since Israel began its assault on Gaza on October 7, 2023, prison authorities have treated Palestinian detainees "mercilessly." He told that they confiscated the prisoners' belongings, deprived them of adequate food, clothing, blankets, and cleaning materials, and imposed a hunger policy. He stated that Palestinian prisoners were subjected to severe insults, beatings, inspections, and torture and the elderly were not spared. The visits from lawyers were banned, and the prisoners were completely isolated from the outside world. – Rights Stripped Away Behabisa pointed out that punishments were not in response to any action, but were imposed for arbitrary and simple reasons: “In the life of a prisoner, there's no comfort in sleep, food, daily living, or anything." He emphasized that Palestinian prisoners were deprived of even the smallest rights and had their dignity stripped away. He also recounted an Israeli guard saying they were simply being transferred from one prison to another—meaning from Israeli prisons to the devastated Gaza Strip. Behabisa said "Despite all these challenges, I wanted to go back to Gaza because we missed it." Hoping to begin a new life after leaving the Israeli prisons, Behabisa's home was destroyed during Israel’s offensive in Gaza. He had planned to get married and settle down after his release, but now fights for survival in a tattered tent with no basic necessities. – Number of Palestinians in Israeli Prisons Exceeds 9,900 According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, more than 16,400 people have been detained by Israel since its assault on Gaza began on October 7, 2023, and 63 Palestinians have died in Israeli custody. As of early April 2025, the number of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons has exceeded 9,900, including 3,498 held under Israel's "administrative detention"—a policy that allows detention without charges. More than 400 of the prisoners are children and 27 are women. The Palestine National Council, affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), declared April 17 as Palestinian Prisoners Day in 1974. Every year on this date, Palestinians organize various events, protests, and symposiums to bring global attention to the issue of prisoners.
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  • Copyright Holder: Anadolu Agency
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