The names of four female Israeli soldiers to be swapped with Palestinian prisoners on Saturday have been released. release by Hamas.

It was the second such exchange that will take place in the first two phases of a three-phase ceasefire agreed this month.

Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama during Hamas-led attacks on military posts and villages in southern Israel on October 7, 2023 Naama Levy and Liri Albag were both captured. About 1,800 Palestinian prisoners awaiting release from Israeli prisons will now be exchanged for 200 of them during the first six weeks of a Hamas-Israel ceasefire agreement that takes effect on Sunday.

Under the terms of the deal, Israel agreed to release 50 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli soldier held in Gaza and 30 for every other female captive during the first phase of the ceasefire. The remaining prisoners will be released during the second phase of the agreement, with negotiations set to begin on February 4.

The third phase is designed to focus on the reconstruction and long-term governance of Gaza.

What do we know about the female Israeli soldiers about to be released?

Aliyev, 20, was serving at the Nahal Oz military base, about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the Gaza border, when he was abducted. In July, her parents released a photo provided to them by Hamas, purportedly from the first days of Aliyev’s captivity, in hopes of putting pressure on the Israeli government, which many of the captives’ families believe The government delayed their release.

In the undated photo, Aliyev can be seen with a bandage on his head, sitting next to Arbag, Agam Berger and Gilboa, who also has a bandage on his head.

Her parents later recognized her from a video posted by Hamas on Telegram that day. About 48 hours later, the Israeli military confirmed her abduction.

Gilboa, 20, is also at the Nahal Oz base. Gilboa appeared in a video released by Hamas in July calling on the Israeli government to bring her and other captives home.

The BBC quoted her mother as saying that Levy was 19 when she was arrested and is now 20 and had just started her military service when Hamas attacked. Hours after her abduction, she appeared in a Hamas video showing her being bundled into a jeep.

Arbagh, 19, works as an army lookout at the Nahal Oz base. Her family believes she had been hiding in a wilderness shelter to avoid rocket attacks during the Hamas-led attacks. Hamas later identified Albagh in a captured video posted on Telegram.

If Saturday’s exchange goes as planned, only 21-year-old Berger will remain in captivity. Three other female soldiers were released during preliminary negotiations on Sunday.

What was the reaction to the first prisoner exchange?

It’s a mix.

many people in Occupied West Bank celebrates release Earlier on Monday, 90 Palestinian prisoners, including 69 women and 21 children, were being held in Israeli prisons. Many expressed joy at being reunited with family and friends. Crowds carry freed prisoners Cheers and whistles accompanied them.

Amanda Abu Sharkh, 23, came only to see a Red Cross bus carrying prisoners arriving in Ramallah. “We are here to witness this and feel the emotions, just like the families of the prisoners who were released today,” Abu Shah told AFP.

“All the prisoners released today are like family to us. They are part of us, even if they are not blood relatives,” she said.

By contrast, Israel’s return on Sunday came as a relief to many Israelis. Romy Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari The move was mixed with anger and resentment among a sizable minority who viewed the exchange as a failure of Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed at least 47,283 Palestinians.

on the west coast, The Israeli military began attacking the town of Jenin and refugee camps on Tuesday, with enraged Israeli settlers targeting six villages where the freed Palestinian women and children came from, firebombing homes, shops, cars and buses.

Why did the Israeli army order Palestinians not to celebrate the release?

They were worried about what it would look like.

There were several reports of police visiting the homes of Palestinian prisoners, removing flags, signs and candy, and expelling anyone who was not a close family member, including journalists. A quarrel reportedly broke out between journalists while reporting on the joy of returning Palestinian families.

Families of released prisoners were also reportedly summoned to police stations and warned not to organize celebrations or marches to mark their release. Family members also told Israel’s Haaretz newspaper that police had instructed them not to comment on messages on social media or give interviews to the media.

Israel’s determination to avoid the encounter being seen as a failure also extended to the prisoners themselves. Rula Hassanein, who was released on Monday, described how the women were forced to kneel on the ground for hours before being released and watched a 90-second loop of video that told them: “This is not your victory. We destroyed and killed[your]leadership in Gaza, Yemen, Syria and Iran,” she recalled.

“We were not allowed to look left or right, only at the screen,” she told CNN.

Why were Palestinian prisoners arrested?

According to an Israeli NGO HamokedArrest by Israeli authorities for any violation, no matter how minor, is routine for Palestinians.

according to 2017 report According to prisoner rights association Adameer, 40 percent of Palestinian men have been arrested by Israeli forces at one point or another.

HaMoked said this month that 10,221 Palestinians are imprisoned by Israel, including 3,376 in administrative detention. Administrative detention allows Israeli authorities to hold prisoners indefinitely without charge or, in some cases, without even explaining the purpose for which they are being held.

Dania Hanatsheh was one of many people released from administrative detention on Monday. “Palestinian families are always ready to be arrested,” Hanashe told ABC News. She said she was never informed of the reason for her detention. “You feel helpless, like you can’t do anything to protect yourself.”

What are the conditions in which Palestinian prisoners are held?

Terrible.

Shatha Jarabaa, 24, who was arrested in August for making social media posts deemed “incitement” by Israeli authorities, told the Guardian she lost weight during her five-month jail sentence 14 kg (31 lbs) lighter.

“Treatment in prison is terrible,” she told the newspaper. “Each prisoner only had one set of clothes. It was freezing cold inside the detention center. Rain would fall on us inside the cells. My arrest was illogical and unreasonable. The charge was due to posting Quran on social media to incite and support terrorist organizations.

“With the prisoners in Gaza, it was a way to imprison as many women as possible and exchange them for Israeli hostages. We became hostages, too, because we were forced into prison without any credible charges.”

The Israeli prison system and the conditions in which Palestinians are held have been the focus of sharp criticism from human rights groups such as Amnesty International and B’Tselem Israel.

Several rapes were reported during the war. August, Many leading Israeli politicians took to the streets to defend prison guards accused of gang-raping a Palestinian detainee. A few months later, in November, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese described the famous Palestinian surgeon Adnan Al-Bosh Most likely “raped to death”.

Most likely raped to death.
A doctor. An excellent surgeon. The embodiment of Palestinian morality.
Most likely raped to death.

The racism of the Western media that did not report this event, the Western politicians that did not condemn this event, and the thousands of other testimonies… pic.twitter.com/IRpCSi9nVZ

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPT (@FranceskAlbs) November 18, 2024

At the time of his death, Dr. Al-Bosh was being held in Ofer prison near Ramallah, the same facility where many of the women and children released this week were held.

In its August report on Israel’s prison system, titled “Welcome to Hell,” B’Tselem documented the treatment of Palestinians in more than a dozen prison facilities that have been operated by non-governmental organizations since the outbreak of war in October 2023. The organization is described as “a network”. Concentration camps that make prisoner abuse a matter of policy.”