One of the most high-profile prisoners to be released by Israel has told Sky News that the world has ignored Palestinians and says Britain is one of the countries he blames for taking away his freedom.
Zakaria Zubeidi was imprisoned in 2019 after being found guilty by an Israeli military court of involvement in terrorism.
He was released as part of the ceasefire agreement and welcomed back to the West Bank by crowds of well-wishers, including the man who was prime minister less than a year ago.
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In his first interview with a European broadcaster, Zubeidi told Sky News he still believes in “a resistance that will lead us to freedom” but claimed that Israeli occupation of the West Bank was wholly down to the international community.
“My life is worthless without freedom,” he said, speaking in Ramallah. “Freedom has no price. But the world that has denied me my freedom – particularly Britain, France, and the United States – must return what they have taken from me and my children.
“They are the ones who need to reconsider their mistakes, not me.
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“They are the ones who have wronged us, and they should think about rectifying the harm they have caused to me and my children.”
Zubeidi, whose mother, brother and son have all died as a result of Israeli military action, has admitted involvement in a 2002 bombing that killed six people.
However, he has also been acclaimed by many in the West Bank as a symbol of the resistance.
He was famously part of a group of prisoners who briefly escaped their Israeli jail after using kitchen utensils to dig a tunnel.
“My message to the Palestinian people is to prioritise their safety and well-being because the assault being carried out against them is immense. I have no message for the occupation [Israel],” he said.
“My message is to the world – the same world that granted the occupation the right to live on my land – to grant me my freedom.”
In common with many other released prisoners, he claimed to have been beaten while behind bars, saying: “The situation in Israeli prisons is extremely harsh. We’ve witnessed it all: severe beatings, attack dogs, relentless insults. Every form of abuse imaginable has been inflicted on the bodies of our prisoners.”
While many in Israel will consider Zubeidi to be a dangerous, murderous extremist, he is considered a totemic figure in the West Bank, and a natural leader in Jenin, where he grew up in a refugee camp.
After being released, Israeli authorities banned him from returning to Jenin.
Instead, he has remained in Ramallah, where a long line of people came to a school building to shake his hand and hug him.
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Among them, former prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, who resigned less than a year ago.
He embraced Zubeidi and told Sky News the release of prisoners could be a catalyst for an enduring peace deal.
“We would like to see all prisoners released and we would like to see all hostages going home,” said Mr Shtayyeh.
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He continued: “It’s a historic moment for everybody. It’s time for this bloodshed to stop. And I think it is a moment of truth for everybody.
“In Gaza, 60,000 people have been killed, more than 120,000 have been injured. And of course, there have been so many casualties in Israel, too.
“We know that. And this time Palestinians are desperate for peace. We want a genuine peace process that does really bring peace and justice for everybody.”
More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, according to Hamas-run authorities in Gaza, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The offensive followed Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, when it took 250 people hostage and killed around 1,200 others.
