Category World News

President Donald Trump is in the region Monday to cement his plan for peace in Gaza.

Ramallah, occupied West Bank – The morning dawned full of anticipation as thousands of Palestinian families prepared to welcome their imprisoned relatives, who were scheduled to be released as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Israel.

Some had spent decades in prison, some were serving consecutive life sentences, and most had been rounded up wholesale by Israel in Gaza during its two-year war on the besieged enclave.

The Ramallah Cultural Centre was where the families of political prisoners being released to the West Bank gathered on Monday, and tears, embraces, and anticipation were everywhere.

But the tears flowing down one woman’s face seemed different as she leaned against her brother, weeping bitterly.

They were shocked and saddened by the news they had just gotten about their brother, prisoner Muhammad Ahmad Imran from Hebron, who was detained in December 2022 and handed 13 life sentences. And their joy at hearing he would be released had just been dashed.

‘All words fail’

Ibtisam and her brother Raed Imran had come to Ramallah two days ago, after they got a call from Muhammad from the Israeli prison where he was held, telling them that he would be among the prisoners to be released to the West Bank.

But when they arrived at the cultural centre on Monday morning, they were told that Muhammad was on the list, yes, but that he was among the more than 100 prisoners whom Israel had decided to exile from Palestine.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office, Israel will be exiling 154 out of 250 Palestinian political prisoners it is releasing.

These men will likely face severe constraints on their movements and activities in the countries they will be taken to, and travel will be difficult given that they only have Palestinian citizenship.

Tamer Qarmout, associate professor in public policy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera these exile orders amount to forced displacement of these individuals.

In addition, because Israel makes it nearly impossible for some Palestinians to travel outside Palestine, these prisoners’ families may never see them again.

Raed was still in disbelief, going over the past few days and all the things that had happened that made him sure his brother was coming home.

“I got a call from an Israeli officer … He told us not to show joy or receive well-wishers,” he said, describing a common experience for Palestinian families: threats by Israeli security forces – of violence, arrests, and worse if they showed any joy that their loved one was coming home.

“The Israeli army raided our home that night, asking where Muhammad would stay after his release. They warned against any celebrations, support for the resistance, or even messages of solidarity with Gaza. We told them we only wanted my brother’s freedom, and that we were prepared to shut our doors to any well-wishers.”

Ibtisam looked exhausted and tearful.

“I was so happy when I heard Muhammad would be released. We left Hebron two days ago … I wanted to be the first to receive him. But all that exhaustion from moving around and finding a place to stay here, it was all worth it; I was so sure all the fatigue would disappear at the moment of meeting,” she said with a sad smile.

“The occupation’s threats spoiled our joy and made us turbulent,” she added. “The manipulation of names and information was intentional, and this is what burned our nerves. [But] I will remain here until the last prisoner is released. I can’t describe what is in my heart … all words fail.”

Joy for the al-Zeir family

Also at the gate of the Ramallah Cultural Centre stood Bassam al-Zeir, a 60-year-old man from Dura, south of Hebron, his face tired but excited.

He was anticipating a reunion he had awaited for 23 years, with his brother Hani, a 50-year-old father of seven, and with their cousin Arafat al-Zeir.

Hani was arrested on June 28, 2002, and sentenced to 25 years in prison, of which he served 23 years. Arafat was arrested at the same time and sentenced to 35 years.

Bassam said it had been “a joyful thunderbolt” to learn that the two men were going to be released.

“My cousin Arafat’s name was on the first list then, at exactly 2am, my brother Hani’s name was released. We couldn’t believe it and started preparing to go to Ramallah right then.”

Bassam hasn’t seen his brother in more than two decades, as the family was denied any visits, likely because Bassam himself had been previously detained.

“I was arrested more than once, and they prevented me from seeing him, even during family visits, as if they wanted the separation between us to remain eternal.”

But, he added: “Freedom is coming … even if it’s delayed by 23 years.”

Despite his joy, Bassam is frustrated and saddened.

On the one hand, he said, he knew that the release of prisoners comes at an indescribable cost that the people of Gaza had to bear for two years.

And on the other hand, the restrictions the Israelis impose on prisoners’ families prevent them from expressing their joy at having their loved ones home again.

“We waited a quarter of a century [for this release] … but they even prevented joy from reaching us,” he says, his eyes welling with tears.

‘Cannot be described’

Then the bus arrived and prisoners began coming out, and Bassam surged forward with members of other families, eager to catch a glimpse of his brother and cousin.

But the crush of people at the doors of the bus was too much, and Bassam faltered, falling back a bit and shouting out “Hani! Hani!” in hopes that his brother would hear him.

Eventually, the brothers were reunited and tears flowed as they embraced and tried to pack a lot of feelings into those moments.

Asked about what was going through his head, Hani shook his head and said, “This feeling cannot be described in words…”

Arafat was not part of this tender moment. His health had deteriorated so much in Israeli prison that he had to be helped off the bus and whisked away immediately to be checked by doctors.

Relief at being out and seeing his brother after so long was apparent on Hani’s face, as was the weariness of his time in prison.

He and Arafat had been held in Ramon Prison until they were told shortly before their release that they were being moved to Ofer, another facility that Palestinians know is usually a last holding area for prisoners about to be released.

They were threatened, Hani said, but the joy of being moved to Ofer Prison was stronger.

“I felt my breath return, as if life had returned.

Kyiv has announced that it is sending a delegation to Washington for talks on strengthening its defence and energy resilience as Russian forces continue targeting Ukraine’s power infrastructure ahead of the cold winter months.

The departure of a senior delegation, led by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, was announced on Monday, just as Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said it had imposed power outages across the country in a bid to reduce pressure on the grid in the wake of damaging Russian attacks.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that he would meet with his US counterpart, President Donald Trump, in Washington on Friday to discuss Ukraine’s air defence and long-range strike capabilities.

Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said that he had shared with Trump a “vision” of how many US Tomahawk missiles Ukraine needs for its war effort against Russia and that the two leaders would further discuss the matter on Friday.

The comments came after recent remarks by Trump that he might consider giving Ukraine long-range precision strike Tomahawk missiles if Russia did not end the war soon, and as Zelenskyy has urged Trump to turn his attention to ending his country’s war with Russia, after having brokered a deal in Gaza.

Attacks on energy grid

The renewed talk of escalating pressure on Moscow comes in the wake of intensified Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities, prompting Ukraine’s Energy Ministry to announce that it was introducing restrictions across seven regions in an effort to reduce pressure on the damaged grid and preserve supply.

For the past three years, Russia has targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in a bid to demoralise the population, leaving millions without power amid brutally cold conditions.

“Due to the complicated situation in Ukraine’s Unified Energy System caused by previous Russian strikes, emergency power outages were implemented” across seven regions, the energy ministry said in a post on Telegram.

It listed territories mainly in the centre and east of the country, including the Donetsk region, where officials have encouraged civilians to leave due to the targeted attacks on power facilities.

“The emergency power cuts will be cancelled once the situation in the power grid has stabilised,” the statement said.

The escalating attacks left more than a million households and businesses temporarily without power in nine regions on Friday, while overnight attacks on Saturday night left two employees of Ukraine’s largest private energy company wounded.

“Russia has … made its attacks on our energy more vicious – to compensate for their failure on the ground,” Zelenskyy said on Sunday.

Delegation to Washington

In response to the attacks, Zelenskyy’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak said on Monday that a delegation, including Svyrydenko and National Security and Defence Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, had left for talks in Washington.

“We’re heading for high-level talks to strengthen Ukraine’s defence, secure our energy resilience, and intensify sanctions pressure on the aggressor,” he posted on X.

“The ultimate goal remains unchanged – a just and lasting peace.”

The delegation came after Zelenskyy said on Sunday that he had spoken to Trump for the second time in two days, in discussions that covered “defence of life in our country” and  “strengthening our capabilities – in air defence, resilience, and long-range capabilities”.

“We also discussed many details related to the energy sector. President Trump is well informed about everything that is happening,” he said, adding that their respective teams were preparing for the talks.

Tomahawks on the table

Following the conversation, Trump told reporters on board his flight to Israel that he might consider giving Ukraine long-range precision strike Tomahawk missiles if Russia did not end the war soon.

“They’d like to have Tomahawks. That’s a step up,” Trump said, referring to the Ukrainians.

“The Tomahawk is an incredible weapon, very offensive weapon. And honestly, Russia does not need that,” Trump added.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded to the suggestion that Washington could provide the missiles to Kyiv by saying such a move could have serious consequences.

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev went even further, warning Trump on Monday that supplying Tomahawks to Ukraine could “end badly” for him.

During a meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, US President Donald Trump praised Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for playing a “very important role” in Gaza ceasefire talks with Hamas. Trump said the US stands “with him all the way” and confirmed that “phase two” of negotiations has begun.