Occupied West Bank (Quds News Network)- Palestinian prisoner and former leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Zakaria Zubeidi, was released from Israeli prisons on Thursday as part of the third phase of a prisoner exchange under the ceasefire agreement reached this month between Hamas and Israel.
Zakaria Zubeidi – Late Second Intifada, 2004.
Zakaria Zubeidi – 2024. pic.twitter.com/bvksgvOQ0N
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 30, 2025
Freed Palestinian prisoner Zakaria Zubeidi reunites with his family after his release as part of the third batch in the prisoner exchange deal between the resistance and Israel today. pic.twitter.com/XxoeEVrCfO
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 30, 2025
Here’s everything you need to know about Zakaria Zubeidi:
Birth and Early Years
A son of the Jenin Refugee Camp, Zubeidi was born in 1976 as the son of refugees displaced from Caesarea by Zionist militias during the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian (1947-49).
Education
Growing up, he attended an UNRWA school inside his refugee camp and was recorded to have been an outstanding student.
At the age of 15, he was kidnapped by Israeli occupation forces and held in an Israeli prison for six months on charges of throwing stones. After his release, he dropped out of high school.
He was forced to leave school due to frequent arrests in his youth, but during this time, he made sure to educate himself in subjects like political science and sociology. He also became fluent in Hebrew. After his release, he enrolled at the Open University of Jerusalem, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology.
In May 2017, he joined Birzeit University to pursue graduate studies in the Department of Contemporary Arab Studies. For his Master’s thesis, he chose a topic inspired by his own struggle, titled “The Hunter and the Dragon: Pursuit in the Palestinian Experience from 1968 to 2018.” In this work, he took on the role of the dragon, which, according to an ancient myth, overpowers the hunter.
In February 2019, he was arrested by the Israeli occupation, but while in detention, he managed to complete the remaining courses and finalize his thesis. In July 2022, he successfully completed his Master’s degree, with a committee at Birzeit University holding his thesis defense in his absence.
Family History of Resisting Occupation
Zakaria’s father is credited with creating the first locally made pistol. Due to his activism, he was first arrested in 1969 and held for a year, then re-arrested in 1982 and again in 1988, remaining in detention until 1992. By then, he had developed brain cancer and passed away shortly after. Zakaria never had the chance to say goodbye to his father, as he was imprisoned by the Israeli forces at the time.
Zakaria’s mother supported resistance fighters by cleaning weapons. She was killed in 2002 when an Israeli sniper shot her during the siege of the Jenin refugee camp, which took place during the Second Palestinian Intifada.
The Israeli occupation demolished the family home three times, and Zakaria, along with all his siblings, was repeatedly arrested. His brother Jibril was imprisoned multiple times, spending over 13 years in Israeli jails. Yahya spent 17 years in prison, while Taha was detained for two years, including four separate periods of administrative detention. Dawood spent 16 years in Israeli prisons.
In 2002, his brother Taha was martyred when the house he was in was bombed by Israeli forces, leaving his body charred. In 2022, his brother Dawood was killed in an armed confrontation with Israeli forces in the Jenin refugee camp. Then, in September 2024, his 21-year-old son Muhammad was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the vehicle he was in with others.
Zakharia was never able to bury any of his loved ones or observe the mourning rituals, as he was always either in detention or being pursued by the occupation forces.
His Path of Resistance
His journey into resistance began at the age of 13 after he was shot in the leg. During this time, his dedication to resisting the occupation grew, and he soon joined the Fatah movement, encouraged by his father.
In 1989, he was arrested and held for six months. Upon his release, he resumed his struggle, only to be re-arrested shortly after. In 1990, he was sentenced to four and a half years for throwing Molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers.
While in prison, he was frequently moved between several facilities, including those in Tiberias, Talmond, Ashkelon, Beersheba, al-Fara, Megiddo, Atlit, and Anata, before finally being held at the Jenin Central Prison.
His time in prison was marked by self-education and political awareness, particularly around the founding principles of Fatah, its methods, and the ideology of armed struggle. This contrasted sharply with the direction the movement was taking at the time, which began to lean towards peace with the occupier—something Zakaria viewed as “surrender.”
This shift left him feeling torn between the mindset of a revolutionary who believes armed struggle is a strategy, not just a tactic, and the news coming from the outside world about a future with no place for armed resistance.
On May 24, 1994, with just five months remaining on his sentence, he was released along with many other Palestinian prisoners as part of the 1993 Oslo Agreement. They were transferred to Jericho, where they were placed under house arrest. It was during this period that he began working with the Palestinian Authority’s security forces.
Zakaria continued his work with the Palestinian Authority until September 2000. When the Second Palestinian Intifada (2000-2005) erupted, he returned to armed resistance, leading armed groups within the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades. He quickly became one of the most prominent military leaders in Jenin, carrying out numerous operations against the occupation in the West Bank.
On December 24, 2001, during one of these operations, he was caught in an explosion that caused severe burns to his face and eyes, leaving permanent scars and affecting his vision. Worse still, the operation exposed his identity and resistance methods.
As a result, he was forced to adopt a new strategy, which he later described in his thesis as “The Dragon and the Hunter.” This approach focused on secrecy, avoiding the use of vehicles and electronic devices, and relying on constant movement without staying in one place for too long.
During the Second Intifada, cities and refugee camps became strongholds of armed resistance, particularly the Jenin refugee camp, which Israel referred to as the “Hornet’s Nest.” The camp played a crucial role in the resistance and the success of military operations. Fierce battles took place there between resistance fighters and Israeli forces, whose aim was to crush the resistance.
He led many military operations in the camp, fighting bravely. His family home became a base for the resistance during these battles, and during this period, he gained widespread fame and significant influence among the people of Jenin.
In 2002, Israeli occupation accused him of planning a resistance operation against the Likud party headquarters, which led to the deaths of six Israelis. As a result, he was placed at the top of Israel’s most-wanted list and remained a fugitive for several years, managing to evade capture during that time.
In 2019, Israeli forces arrested him after a large military operation in Ramallah. The Israeli authorities claimed he was involved in “new incitement activities” and accused him of carrying out two shooting operations on buses near the Beit El settlement in the West Bank, in November 2018 and January 2019, which resulted in three Israeli settlers being injured.
Gilbou’s Six Breakers
Zakaria, along with five inmates from the Islamic Jihad movement, managed to escape from the high-security Gilbou Prison on September 6, 2021, by digging a tunnel beneath it.
However, the Israeli occupation recaptured them within a few days. They were then subjected to physical violence. During his re-arrest, Israeli police broke Zakaria’s jaw and two ribs.
At the time, he was still being held without trial or sentence. Later, an Israeli military court sentenced him to an additional five years for his escape. He also endured mistreatment, solitary confinement, and was denied visits from his family.
In May 2024, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission reported that he is being subjected to retaliatory transfers every three months. During his three-month stay in Ashkelon prison, he endured daily searches, shortages of food and clothing, and poor conditions.
In January 2025, Israel included his name in the list of prisoners set to be released as part of a prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement in Gaza following 15 months of Israeli bombardment, allowing him to return to his home in Jenin.
Assassination Attempts
Zubeidi is one of the resistance leaders who has always remained on the Israeli target list for elimination. The occupation forces have attempted to assassinate him several times, but all attempts have failed. In his thesis, he mentioned some of these failed assassination attempts:
High Cards Operation: An undercover unit surrounded his house, waiting for additional military reinforcements. However, he managed to sneak out of the house and escape before the reinforcements arrived.
Assassination attempt during a funeral: Israeli special forces raided the funeral house where he was attending. While he managed to evade capture and flee, the attack resulted in the martyrdom of four people and the injury of 37 others.
Burqin Valley operation (near the Jenin refugee camp: During this operation, Israeli soldiers surrounded the house where he was staying after they tracked his phone. He quickly fought back and managed to escape, though he was shot three times during the chase.
Tears of the Dragon operation: This operation targeted four resistance fighters, including Zakaria. Israeli forces deployed soldiers in four groups to track down the fugitives, along with snipers positioned on rooftops overlooking the camp’s streets. Despite the heavy operation, he was able to slip away safely to an area outside the camp.
He was pursued by Israeli snipers three times, sustaining injuries in two of the attempts, but he survived each time.