Jerusalem – With tears of joy streaming down his cheeks and a look of complete disbelief, Sawsan Bakeer ran down a flight of stairs to greet his 24-year-old daughter, Marah, who had just been released after eight years in an Israeli prison.
Marah Bakeer is one of 39 Palestinian women and children released from Israeli prisons on Friday in exchange for 13 Hamas captives as part of a Qatar-brokered deal that includes a four-day truce in Gaza.
“I told you Marah was beautiful,” Sawsan told reporters, as she hugged her daughter and showered her with endless kisses. “Not really because she’s my daughter, but Marah is beautiful and you have to see that for yourself.”
Before her imprisonment, Bakeer was a 16-year-old high school student at al-Maimouna school in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem.
Every day, she walked from her family home in Beit Hanina to school, crossing a highway that connects East and West Jerusalem.
As she returned home on October 12, 2015, Israeli forces shot and arrested her for allegedly trying to stab an Israeli officer. Baker and his family deny the accusations.
When she was arrested, Bakeer was lying on the sidewalk with 12 gunshot wounds to her arm and hand that left her with permanent damage. She was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison.
As a child when she was imprisoned, Bakeer was due to complete her sentence and return home in four months.
“I needed my mother’s love”
Newly released, Bakeer told Tel Aviv Tribune that her time in prison was tough, but she endured it thanks to her faith in God and the support of her family and fellow Palestinian inmates.
“There were many difficult times in prison, but like anyone else in life, they made it through.
“Prison was especially difficult because I was young (when I was in prison) and I needed my mother’s love and my family’s support.
“Even though many fellow inmates took care of me and helped me, nothing can replace a mother’s love,” she said as Sawsan held her.
About 8,000 Palestinians remain in Israeli prisons, 3,000 of whom have been detained over the past seven weeks as part of a growing number of Israeli armed raids in the West Bank.
Over the next four days, 150 Palestinian prisoners and 50 Israeli hostages are to be released.
Cellular isolation before release
Over the years of her imprisonment, Bakeer became something of a political figure, representing all female prisoners before the administration of Damon Prison in northern Israel, where Palestinian prisoners and minors are held.
Following the October 7 Hamas attack, Israel transferred Bakeer, along with other prison leaders, to another prison, in Jalame, and placed her in solitary confinement.
For more than six weeks, she was not allowed to communicate with her fellow inmates or receive any information from the outside world.
“It was a very difficult time because they kept me away from the others, and it was during the war. I didn’t know what was happening to them and it really affected me,” she told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“What was even more difficult was that I didn’t know anything about my family. But I knew God would protect them,” she added.
Baker was taken out of her cell Wednesday, but says she was not informed of what was happening.
“When I didn’t return to my cell, I knew a deal was being negotiated, but I had no idea of the details,” she said.
It was only Friday morning that she was informed of her release from prison.
No celebrations, Israel orders families
Before Bakeer’s release, her family said they had no information on when she would return home until Israeli forces stormed their home and asked all relatives and guests to leave. They cautioned against any show of joy or celebration at Baker’s arrival, the family said.
Bakeer’s father, Jawdat, was questioned at a Jerusalem police station and warned the family against any signs of joy over Marah’s release.
“Marah came home today. We just received it but they (Israeli forces) threatened to storm the house and arrest me if we celebrated,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
Israeli forces also blocked all entry to the neighborhood where Baker’s family home is located. They stationed soldiers outside the house, ensuring that no groups could gather.
Qadura Fares, who heads the NGO Palestinian Prisoners Club, said 33 prisoners were released in the West Bank and handed over to a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross, while six others were released in Jerusalem.
The NGO said in a statement that the Israeli government had imposed several conditions prohibiting released prisoners and their families from speaking to the press, receiving guests in their homes or distributing sweets to celebrate. Those who do not follow the rules could be fined around 70,000 shekels ($18,740), the NGO added.
Although Bakeer is happy to be home, she told Tel Aviv Tribune that her happiness is incomplete given the continuing bloodshed in Gaza.
“I am of course very happy, but I feel devastated by the way this deal was reached…at the cost of the lives of our brothers and sisters in Gaza. »
More than 14,800 people have been killed in Israeli bombardments on Gaza since October 7. In Israel, the official death toll from Hamas attacks is around 1,200 people.
