For Fuad Kamamji, seeing his son’s name on Israel’s list of soon-to-be-released Palestinian prisoners brought a profound and “rare happiness.”
“We have always accepted whatever destiny God laid before us, even through the toughest times,” Mr. Kamamji shared. “We found peace amidst every hardship. But today, a joy has blossomed that we haven’t experienced in far too long.”
His son, Eham Kamamji, 39, has been incarcerated since 2006, serving a life sentence after his conviction for the kidnapping and murder of Israeli settler Eliyahu Asheri. Eham has been held in solitary confinement since 2021, following a temporary escape from Israel’s Gilboa Prison alongside five other Palestinians, an event Israeli authorities described as the largest Palestinian jailbreak in over two decades.
On Friday, Israel unveiled a list of prisoners slated for release, an outcome of the recent cease-fire agreement forged with Hamas. The deal stipulates that the Palestinian militant group will release the remaining 48 hostages, with Israel estimating that 20 are still alive.
Under the terms of a government resolution released Friday, Israel is set to release approximately 250 Palestinian prisoners, predominantly those serving life sentences, alongside 1,700 Gazans detained during the recent conflict who were not implicated in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. The majority of these life-sentence prisoners, upon conviction, did not dispute the charges but asserted their actions were part of resistance efforts.
Despite Eham Kamamji appearing on the release list, the terms stipulate he will be sent into exile, precluding his return to his home in Jenin, located in the West Bank.
Fuad Kamamji expressed a cautious optimism, hesitant to fully celebrate after his son had been included in previous prisoner swap discussions that ultimately fell through. “What I feel now is a powerful sense of relief and peace,” he stated. “I truly believe my son will be released, whether he can return home or must go into exile. The paramount thing is his freedom.”
Throughout the West Bank and Gaza, families with loved ones in prison are grappling with the news, learning who is destined for freedom, who faces exile, and who will tragically remain incarcerated—specifically, those prisoners whose release Israel deems unacceptable.
Among those Israel has steadfastly refused to release is Hassan Salama, 54, a prominent Hamas figure. He was condemned to over 40 life sentences for masterminding a series of suicide bombings in 1996 that claimed the lives of dozens of Israelis and injured hundreds, acts carried out in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Yahya Ayyash, Hamas’s notorious bomb-maker.
Ghufran Zamel, 42, became engaged to Mr. Salama 16 years ago, long after he had been imprisoned. Last year, she moved to Turkey. Ms. Zamel voiced concerns that if Hamas releases all Israeli hostages, thereby relinquishing its leverage, it “would spell a death sentence” for any Palestinian prisoner not included on Israel’s agreed-upon release list.
Conversely, for many Israeli families who lost loved ones in the attacks, the prospect of the perpetrators being freed evoked a complex array of emotions.
Renana Meir, whose mother, Dafna, was tragically stabbed to death outside her home in the West Bank settlement of Otniel in 2016, penned an article in an Israeli newspaper on Friday, asserting that the impending release of her mother’s murderer would endanger Israelis across the region.
Yet, she also expressed her belief that her mother would have supported their release in exchange for the return of Israeli hostages. “I know you would have done this without a second thought, if it were your decision,” she wrote.
The list indicates that over half of the prisoners Israel plans to release are slated for exile, though their destinations remain undisclosed. Among them is Basem Khandaqji, a Palestinian writer sentenced to three life terms for his role in the 2004 Carmel Market suicide bombing, an attack that killed three Israelis and injured many others.
While imprisoned, Mr. Khandaqji has published several poetry collections and novels, including the critically acclaimed “A Mask, the Color of the Sky,” which was awarded the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2024.
His sister, Amani Khandaqji, shared that she felt “over the moon” about his potential release. “He might face deportation,” she acknowledged, “but at least he will be free.”
In Jericho, West Bank, Sara Salem anxiously awaited the release of her husband, Ahmad Kaabnah, a veteran Fatah member. He has spent 28 of his 54 years in prison following his conviction for the killing of two Israeli settlers.
Since the announcement of the deal, she has barely slept. “I couldn’t even bring myself to turn on the TV to check if the cease-fire had taken hold; the anticipation was consuming me entirely,” she recounted.
Ms. Salem was pregnant with their second child when Mr. Kaabnah was first arrested. They later conceived a third child through in vitro fertilization, using sperm smuggled from the prison. Today, Mr. Kaabnah is a grandfather to five, with a sixth grandchild expected. Ms. Salem noted that he has been denied any visits, even from family, since before the recent conflict in Gaza.
Despite her longing for Mr. Kaabnah to “return to us,” he, like others, is designated for exile upon his release.
Yet, even the prospect of his freedom leaves her consumed with anxiety, Ms. Salem admitted. “We are on tenterhooks,” she described, “eagerly awaiting the news that will confirm our Ahmad’s liberation.”
Johnatan Reiss contributed to this report from Tel Aviv.