When Palestinian activist Bushra Al-Tahil was released from an Israeli prison in an exchange for hostages held by Hamas earlier this week, many media reports labeled her a prisoner – or worse, a terrorist.
This happened despite the fact that no Israeli court ever convicted him, or charged him, or gave him evidence as to why he was detained for more than 10 months.
Still, in the eyes of the world, Al-Tahil says he was made to look guilty.
“They are only trying to make us criminals,” he told CBC News in an interview in his mother’s living room in Ramallah, West Bank, a few days after his release.
Palestinian prisoners and their lawyers say the appearance of Palestinians as prisoners is part of a deliberate strategy.
“I [Israeli hostages] the people of Gaza are considered ‘captives,’ because the criminals had taken them hostage,” said Al-Tahil. But because he was imprisoned in an Israeli prison, he says he became a “prisoner.”
Thousands of happy Israelis celebrated in the streets of Tel Aviv and other cities when Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher were finally released from Gaza last Sunday. Hamas says it will release four more Israeli hostages this coming Saturday, in exchange for a large group of Palestinian prisoners.
A ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has begun with the first three hostages released from Gaza returning Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. The fragile, interim agreement also sees an increase in humanitarian aid being allowed into Gaza.
While there is no doubt that the three women lived through a 470-day nightmare in Gaza, Al-Tahil says her time in an Israeli prison was difficult. He says he endured months of isolation, mistreatment and mental torture by his captors.
Prisoners’ rights activist
Al-Tahil, 30, has been well known to Israeli and Palestinian Authority security officials for many years.
A prominent prisoner’s rights lawyer in the West Bank with a high-profile social media presence, he has been arrested or detained seven times since he was 18 – and was part of a prisoner exchange involving Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit back in 2011.
Al-Tahil says he has only been convicted of anything once – inciting terrorism. He says it’s a catch-all term that can include anything the Israeli authorities want. In that situation, he says he has been giving speeches and writing about resistance to Israel’s occupation.
He said his father, who is also being held in an Israeli prison, may be released as part of an ongoing prisoner/hostage exchange.
Israel’s justice minister has labeled Bushra Al-Tahil as a Hamas sympathizer, but told CBC News that is not true.
Under Israel’s controversial detention laws – which due to recent changes now apply only to non-Jews – the government is not required to publicly disclose what evidence it has to detain people for security reasons.
Al-Tahil says that in March, Israeli security forces came to his friend’s apartment where he was staying and “beat him severely” before taking him to prison. In prison, she says she was subjected to random searches and repeated threats by male guards, including taking away feminine hygiene products.
“It was a matter of revenge,” he said. He says the Israeli authorities were angry about the attack on Oct. 7, 2023, for Hamas and that his previous activism against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank made him an easy target.
CBC News contacted the Israeli military for more information on Al-Tahil’s case, but was referred to the country’s security service. Multiple calls and text messages were not returned.
Administrative detention
Sarit Michaeli, of B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights NGO, says the question of who is a prisoner and who is incarcerated is “sad.”
“The others [prisoners] they are not condemned to anything. Others have been convicted of killing dozens of Israelis. “However, there is another group of Palestinian prisoners who were sentenced in Israeli courts for crimes that Israelis would not be arrested or charged with – for example, crimes related to incitement or public order,” Michaeli told CBC News.
“Perhaps many of the prisoners the Israelis would describe as ‘terrorists’ have not done anything violent,” he said.
As the Israeli hostages are being held by Hamas and other opposition groups, Al-Tahil says his prison guards told him that he and other Palestinian women were arrested just to be sold to Israeli hostages.
“Everyone was waiting [ceasefire] work, because there was none [way] to avoid our arrest,” he said.
A prominent Palestinian politician in the West Bank told CBC News that Israel’s strategy to round up people ahead of the exchange is well-known.
“We are playing cat and mouse,” said Sabri Saydam, a senior member of the Fatah Party, which runs the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.
A few hours after the ceasefire agreement in Gaza came into effect, the Israeli army opened a new step in the conflict, sending a large military team to the city of Jenin, in the West Bank, “to end terrorism,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a post.
Images on social media on Monday night appeared to show dozens of Palestinians being arrested by Israeli forces.
“The first figures indicate that those who were collected last night and the day before are equal to those who will be released,” said Saydam on Tuesday.
Israeli forces killed at least 9 Palestinians in the West Bank in a major operation that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said was aimed at ‘defeating terrorism.’ It raises fears that the suspended war in Gaza will continue there again.
Of the 90 Palestinians who exchanged in the deal last weekend, more than 60 were women and all eight were arrested after the attack on Oct. 7.
None of the Palestinians released from the first batch over the weekend were convicted of killing Israelis. Among the serious charges is the attempted murder of a 15-year-old boy, although he had not yet been sentenced when he was released on Monday morning.
If the ceasefire goes according to plan, the next hostage swap will include people convicted of serious crimes, according to a list released by the Israeli government.
Israeli television channels report that out of more than 700 Palestinians who may be freed, those arrested for murder may end up being more than 100.
Another 1,000 people abducted in Gaza by Israeli forces will also be returned to the area, but Israeli authorities have not said whether any of them are suspected of committing a crime.
It’s a matter of equality
While many Palestinians see the plight of the detainees as similar to that of Israeli hostages, the issue of equality is divisive in Israel – and among Jewish groups outside the country, including Canada.
Honest Reporting Canada, which bills itself as a watchdog of “fair and accurate” Israeli news, has expressed support for Israel’s detention laws and said any equation between Palestinians in Israeli jails and captives is “morally wrong.”
After the first and only round of hostage/detainee exchanges in November 2023, the American Jewish Committee released its own fact sheet, saying that Palestinians held in Israeli prisons “made a strong decision to commit a crime,” while the only “crime” committed by Israelis and other foreign hostages was “they were Jews or they were from Israel.”
On Tuesday, an Arab Israeli member of Israel’s Knesset sparked online backlash from Israeli Jews after posting that he was happy for the release of the three kidnapped women, along with Palestinian prisoners.
“We are all born free,” wrote Ayman Odeh.
Later on social media X, Odeh explained that although Jewish Israelis “often see primarily the suffering of the Jews, I see and feel the suffering of both peoples — this is simply true, not just for me, but for all the Arabs who live here. country.”
Bushra Al-Tahil says she was enjoying her freedom, spending time with her mother and studying. But he fears that the peace will be short-lived and that, before long, he will be back in prison.
“We are always worried. Not because we are afraid, but because the situation will not be good.”