Released But Not Free: The Plight of Palestinian Detainees

As part of a series of prisoner exchange deals with Hamas, Israel has released—and continues to release—hundreds of Palestinians from its prisons and military bases. These detainees include civilians abducted by the army’s invasion of Gaza’s hospitals, schools and displacement centers, as well as long-held security detainees. However, despite their release, they remain under strict restrictions and ongoing threats.

On January 19, 2025, after 15 months of relentless Israeli bombardment, and under pressure following Donald Trump’s return to office, Israel agreed to a ceasefire that overturned an earlier deal brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States.

The multi-phase agreement required Israel to allow desperately needed aid into Gaza, including mobile homes for displaced civilians, under a ‘humanitarian protocol.’ In exchange, Hamas agreed to return Israeli captives, as well as the remains of captives and soldiers, through a series of exchanges aimed at securing the release of thousands of Palestinian detainees.

However, Israel’s documented breaches of previous agreements have left these released Palestinians far from truly free. From travel bans and re-arrests to psychological warfare and exile, these violations are systemic and widespread, impacting detainees regardless of where they are released.

Psychological Warfare and Humiliation

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society monitor, all released prisoners from all regions have testified to being subjected to torture, psychological torture, and humiliation by Israeli authorities during their imprisonment and up until the final moments before their release.

Reports have documented systematic malnutrition and torture, highlighting the severe physical and psychological abuse endured by Palestinian detainees. During each release, several Palestinians were admitted to hospitals due to months of Israeli health neglect, starvation, and torture—abuse that continued up until the moments before their release.

As part of the Israeli guards’ psychological torture tactics on Palestinians confined in their prisons, they were told that their families had all been killed and that Gaza had been completely annihilated. As this released Palestinian amputee stated amid his release, “We can’t believe it, they told us Gaza is gone.” Many released Gazans collapsed upon learning they had lost numerous family members while being abducted.

A Palestinian man, abducted by the Israeli army during the invasion of a displacement center and released in the fifth exchange, testified that an Israeli officer threatened to kill him if he celebrated his release with his family in Gaza. He recalled the officer’s chilling words: “A rocket to the head.” This threat underscores the relentless fear and intimidation that released detaiees endure, even after leaving Israeli custody.

Biblical Branding and Forced Slogans

In a disturbing twist, the Israeli prison service forced released Palestinian detaiees to wear plastic bracelets inscribed with the verse, “I pursued my enemies and overtook them!” (Psalms 18:37). The same verse was displayed on banners outside Ofer Prison, where many West Bank detainees were released. The bracelets bore threatening phrases in Hebrew and Arabic, such as “The eternal nation never forgets. I pursue my enemies & overtake them!”

During the fifth exchange round, prisoners were further humiliated by being made to wear shirts emblazoned with menacing slogans, including a Star of David and the declaration, “We do not forget, we do not forgive.” This marking of Palestinian detainees has drawn chilling comparisons to historical acts of oppression and dehumanization, highlighting the psychological warfare embedded in Israel’s treatment of detainees.

These practices serve as a stark reminder of Israeli domination, warning released detainees of re-arrest or assassination. Beyond them and their families, such threats act as a broader deterrent to all Palestinians, reinforcing Israel’s control even after captivity.

Threats of Re-arrest and Legal Harassment

Israel has a long history of violating prisoner exchange deals and ceasefires, and the current agreement is no exception. According to Gaza’s government media office, Israel has committed over 350 violations of the January 15 ceasefire agreement.

Despite the deal’s terms prohibiting interference in the lives of released prisoners, Israel has reopened cases against them, keeping them in constant danger of re-arrest. In a direct threat, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz publicly warned Palestinian resistance figure and Gilboa prison breaker Zakaria Zubeidi on X, stating that any “mistakes” could lead to his immediate re-arrest.

Following the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal, in which over 1,000 Palestinian detainees were released, Israel re-arrested at least 246 of them within a few years. Dozens of those re-arrested were released again in the current exchange but exiled to Egypt before being sent back to the occupied West Bank, only to face the same cycle of threats and restrictions.

In a recent example, following the November 2023 exchange deal, Israel released 150 Palestinians, most of them women and teenagers, primarily to the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. However, within weeks of the deal’s conclusion, Israel re-arrested 11 of them, despite the agreement guaranteeing their freedom. This repeated targeting and detention highlight Israel’s ongoing violations of prisoner exchange terms.

Travel Bans and Movement Restrictions

Released detainees face severe restrictions on their movement, regardless of where they are located in Palestine. Some are even confined to house arrest, especially in occupied Jerusalem, or subjected to military orders restricting their ability to work, seek medical treatment.

Released detainees in Gaza face even harsher travel restrictions than other Palestinians. Israel is pushing for greater control over the sole Rafah crossing if a permanent ceasefire takes effect, effectively turning Gaza into an even larger prison for those seeking to leave.

Although the specific details of the current deal were not made public, like in past agreements, released detainees in the West Bank were automatically barred from travelling outside Palestine through Jordan, effectively trapping them in fully occupied cities and high-risk areas like Jenin and Tulkarm. Many remain under strict surveillance, required to regularly report to Israeli authorities, or risk arbitrary detention.

Released Palestinians from occupied Jerusalem and 1948 occupied territories face particularly harsh restrictions, including bans on entering Al-Aqsa Mosque for periods ranging from 6 months to a year. During this upcoming Ramadan, Israel has announced special entry bans to the holy site for anyone released under the deal.

Even children are not spared from these oppressive measures. Fourteen-year-old Ahmad Salaymeh, one of the youngest detainees freed in the November 2023 exchange deal, was barred from re-enrolling in his former school until at least mid-January 2024, following a period of probation.

For Palestinians living in Israel’s territories who were released in exchange deals, Israel imposes restrictions that control nearly every aspect of their lives. These include denying access to health insurance, restricting the right to work, and limiting freedom of movement—even banning some from entering the West Bank. These measures systematically isolate released Palestinians, keeping them in a state of perpetual vulnerability and dependence.

Intimidation of Families

Israeli occupation forces systematically intimidate the families of released detainees to suppress any attempt at celebrations, as the Israeli government has instructed its forces to raid homes and enforce these barbaric measures.

Before a detainees’ release, Israeli forces often raid their family home, threatening the family not to celebrate or show any signs of joy. In both the West Bank and Jerusalem, soldiers have been documented destroying chairs and decorations set up for celebrations.

Families of released Palestinian detainees in occupied Jerusalem are forced to sign affidavits pledging not to show any signs of celebration or speak to journalists. Failure to comply results in fines, arrests, or further harassment. “No journalists allowed, no meetings, no gatherings,” said the father of prisoner Nael Obeid as he apologized to reporters, explaining that he had been forced to sign an affidavit by an Israeli officer who summoned him the night before his son’s release. “I have signed an affidavit—no meetings.”

A week after being freed following 21 years in Israeli prisons, Nael Obeid tragically died after falling from the roof of his home in Isawiya. While his family mourned him at the hospital, Israeli occupation forces attacked, abducted several relatives, and later assaulted his funeral with tear gas.

Exile and Life in Limbo

All exiled Palestinian detainees  have been sent to Egypt, where they remain confined in a hotel in Cairo, stranded while awaiting other countries to review their cases and grant them entry. The countries that had previously committed to taking them in have yet to formally accept them. Potential destinations include Algeria, Turkey, Tunisia, and Qatar.

Amid the bloodthirsty agenda of Israel’s government, exiled detainees  face ongoing threats of assassination, as Israel deems them too dangerous and claims they have ‘Jewish blood on their hands’. Israeli reports are now openly discussing the diplomatic feasibility of targeting exiled Palestinian detainees  in countries such as Tunisia and Algeria, arguing that the lack of diplomatic relations with Israel removes any political obstacles to assassinating them there.

Despite prior pledges from various Arab states to accept exiled Palestinian detainees, none have taken action. To date, no Arab country other than Qatar has formally agreed to take in any expelled detainee. Meanwhile, Turkey has recently agreed to accept a portion of them, while other Arab nations remain oddly hesitant.

On top of that, Israel has recently barred three families of exiled detainees from travelling to Jordan from the West Bank to fly to Egypt and reunite with their released relatives. After waiting for hours, the families were denied permission to travel to reunite with sons they had not seen in over 20 years of Israeli imprisonment.

In a MEE report, the Israeli officer was quoted saying to the family, “Iyad [released detainee] should have died in prison, and people like him should not be released. The Israeli political decision-makers made a mistake in letting these people go.”

Despite the appearance of freedom, released Palestinian detainees remain trapped in a system of perpetual control—subject to travel bans, re-arrest threats, and severe restrictions on their activism. Whether sent to the West Bank, Gaza, or exiled abroad, their release is not true freedom but a continuation of oppression in a different form. Ultimately, their plight exposes the illusion of freedom under occupation, proving that their struggle does not end with release—it simply takes on new battles.