After the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, the announcement of the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners brought happiness beyond words. These prisoners, who have spent years locked in small rooms, some up to 35 years, endured a significant part of their lives behind bars.
I was born, lived, and built my life – going to university, and making plans – but someone else spent those same years in prison.
During the second prisoner exchange, my cousin was one of them! We didn’t know until 10 AM on Saturday, 24 January. It was a day I will never forget, as all of Palestine waited, glued to the news.
The moment the family learned of his release, they drove to Ramallah to meet him, to embrace him for the first time in six years. They immediately set out from Hebron, but soon discovered that the Israeli occupation had closed most of the checkpoints between the cities, trapping them in traffic for hours. The bus carrying the prisoners arrived in Ramallah, and my cousin, exhausted, searched for his family with his tired eyes and fragile body. He found some relatives who had come to celebrate with him, but his mother, still stuck at the checkpoint, could not move. Time seemed to stop. The family on the other side took him in their car and drove him to meet his parents and relatives.
Every time I think of that moment, it makes my heart swell. He was our superhero, and now someone we could finally touch and hold.
But shortly after arriving home, Israeli soldiers attacked his house. A group of soldiers disrupted the emotions of that moment, turning joy into fear and panic. The sounds of gunfire filled the air as the soldiers forced the men to gather outside. They then entered the home where the women were gathered, searching for anything related to the celebration, hoping to arrest people. They succeeded with one of our relatives, arresting him and attacking his family, who had been hanging lights in celebration.
At my cousin’s house, they found nothing. They photographed the men’s IDs, kicked them out, and threatened my uncle, telling him that no one should come to his home again.
Some family members stayed the night, afraid the soldiers might return.
My cousin cried and his tears broke our hearts. He is our hero. He had spent six years locked in a small room, enduring ruthless soldiers, starvation, attacks, insults, and the most painful emotions imaginable. Their strategy was to break the Palestinian prisoners, to make them forget, hate, or give up the Palestinian cause. But after everything he faced, he stood proud, knowing he was a part of the resistance. His time in prison wasn’t just a matter of survival – it was for our country, our land, our history, our faith.
A harsh, devastating experience that no human should endure only made him stronger – not physically, as he lost over 50 kilograms in weight – but in his faith, his love for Palestine, and his belief that the world would see who this land truly belongs to. It demonstrated why people spend years and years in prison for a cause greater than themselves.
In the Quran, Allah says, {وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ} (“And your Lord says, ‘Call upon Me; I will respond to you.'” [Ghafir: 60]). This verse speaks of Allah’s mercy and generosity, encouraging us to call upon Him, trusting that He will respond.
So, my request to people, no matter what you believe, is to keep praying. Pray for those enduring the most oppressive occupation in the prisons. Pray for those who have lost weight, and who have become weak and frail. Pray for the mothers, fathers, and families of those incarcerated. Pray for freedom, for justice.
Learn from the Palestinian experience of challenge, resistance, faith, and belonging. Let their perseverance teach you the power of insistence and commitment.