‘The Scholar’: Who is Palestinian Detainee Iyad Haribat, Freed from Israeli Prisons?

Occupied West Bank (Quds News Network)- Palestinian detainee Iyad Haribat was freed on Saturday from Israeli prisons, along with 369 others, as part of the sixth prisoner exchange deal under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

Who’s Iyad Haribat?

He is a resident of Dura town, southwest of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

43-year-old Haribat was arrested in 2002 and he was serving a life sentence in Israeli prisons.
Haribat was transferred between Israeli prisons and subjected to solitary confinement for months.

He has spent more than 19 years in Israeli prisons for unknown reasons and was subjected to two assassination attempts.

The first was in 2014 after he was injured by the Israeli occupation forces while suppressing the prisoners in Ramon prison, and he was transferred to the prison clinic. In the clinic, he was given an injection in the head causing him to lose his memory and the ability to move his limbs.

The second time was in 2017 after he was transferred to Soroka hospital. The Israeli occupation forces sprayed him that time with a toxic gas that led him to have burns all over his body, and he lost 40 kilograms of his weight and became fully paralyzed.

After 12 years of his arrest, the situation changed dramatically. Haribat’s health had been relatively stable until 2014, when the Israeli prison administration launched a series of repressive operations across the prisons, including medical neglect.

At that time, his family confirmed that Israeli forces injected Haribat’s body with an unknown substance in an attempt to assassinate him, which resulted in paralysis in his left hand and right foot, as well as general weakness throughout his body. As a result, the prisoner was forced to use a wheelchair.

His mother, Yusra Haribat, confirmed that “the prison administration injected her son in the head, causing memory loss and brain dysfunction.”

In 2014, Yusra Haribat explained in media statements that her son “had kicked her out during a visit, doubting whether she and his siblings were truly his family, and asking her not to visit him again.”

Haribat is known to be fluent in three languages and holds two university degrees in political science and agricultural engineering and he helped his fellow inmates to learn writing and reading.

In 2021, his case was brought up again due to a decline in his health, with his family urging for his release. He was suffering from a widespread bacterial infection, weakened lungs, and chronic prostate issues. As a result, he was transferred to the hospital for surgery.

However, the prison administration sent him back to prison before he could complete his treatment, which severely worsened his condition. He was later transferred to the hospital after pressure from the detainees and three hours following a bleeding episode. His health deteriorated further in 2022.

The detainee Osama Al-Ashqar once wrote about him while he was in Ramon Prison on June 23, 2021: “I met him on the first day of my arrest, nearly nineteen years ago. He was a determined young man, well-educated, and a true fighter, always working with unparalleled dedication in every role. Everyone who knew him, both inside and outside the prisons, admired his noble character, kindness, and limitless generosity. He completed his university education and excelled in offering cultural and national courses to his fellow prisoners.”

For this reason, Haribat was given the nickname “The Scholar” within the prison.

Embracing Freedom

Haribat was among 369 Palestinian detainees freed on Saturday by the Israeli occupation authorities as part of the sixth prisoner exchange deal, under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

They include 36 Palestinians who were serving life sentences and 333 who were abducted in the Gaza Strip during the assault.

According to the list, 24 detainees have been exiled from Palestine. Of those included in the sixth batch are 7 from occupied Jerusalem and 29 from the occupied West Bank.

Haribat will be forcibly exiled from Palestine to. Qatar, his mother said following his release.

تغطية صحفية| "الســنوار قال لي: والله لأطّلع لك ابنك، ابنك حر وما بطلعوا إلا الحر"..

والدة الأسير المحرر إياد حريبات، تتحدث بعد تحريره بصفقة المـــقاومة اليوم pic.twitter.com/Hr7k4JkNFd

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) February 15, 2025