Israa Jaabis Released as Part of Prisoner Swap Deal with Hamas

Taarek Refaat

Israa Jaabis Released as Part of Prisoner Swap Deal with Hamas

After the announcement of the truce and the the prisoners swap deal between the Hamas movement and the Israeli authorities, the name of the Palestinian prisoner Israa Jaabis, who has been detained for 8 years, emerged, as she is considered one of the icons of Palestinian women inside Israeli prisons.

The Israeli forces released a number of female prisoners from the city of Jerusalem in light of a media blackout emphasizing aspects of the release process. Israeli special forces also stormed the home of the prisoner Israa Jaabis moments before her expected release.

#فيديو | لحظة لقاء الحرة إسراء جعابيص بذويها بعد الإفراج عنها pic.twitter.com/vsMo9rNaj0
— قناة فلسطين اليوم (@Paltodaytv) November 26, 2023

Video footage showed Israeli soldiers forcefully evacuating Israa's relatives and journalists from the house.

Meantime, Israa arrived at her home after the Israeli forces failed to evacuate the house.

Palestine TV published footage of the moment Israa Jaabis met her family, and only son after her release.

Jaabis has been imprisoned in Israel since 2015 after her car broke down on a highway 1.5 kilometers from the Zaim checkpoint in the West Bank. The reason for the breakdown is disputed. According to Israeli media, it was an attempted car bombing. According to Arab media, the engine of the car failed, which caused a fire igniting butane tanks she was transporting for personal use, and Jaabis was not permitted to leave the vehicle.

اللقاء الأول للأسيرة المحررة إسراء جعابيص
نخجل أن نفرح وفلسطين كلها جريحة pic.twitter.com/EjrMwnmPco
— بلال نزار ريان (@BelalNezar) November 25, 2023

According to Al-Arabiya, no explosive device was found in the vehicle, and the fire began due to an short circuit.

The fire caught fire inside the car, so Israa got out of the car and called for an ambulance from the Israeli police officers near the scene of the accident, but the police officers did not provide her with an ambulance, so they mobilized and brought more police and security personnel.

قوات الاحتلال تعتدي على الصحفيين وتخرجهم بالقوة من بيت الأسيرة إسراء جعابيص. pic.twitter.com/Ne4nbzrGAQ
— Zaid Alsalman (@ZaidAlsalman6) November 25, 2023

Israa needs eight urgent operations on her eyes and face, to separate her ears that are attached to her head, and to treat severe injuries to her hands, in addition to the fact that she constantly suffers from high temperatures, and her treatment requires years of physical and psychological rehabilitation. Because most of her fingers were destroyed as a result of the fire and injury, Israa is unable to eat or perform the simplest tasks of daily living.

حافلة تابعة للصليب الأحمر تنقل أسرى فلسطينيين تغادر سجن عوفر غربي رام الله، باتجاه بلدة #بيتونيا بالضفة الغربية المحتلة pic.twitter.com/JFthKZwyND