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.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThe 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 …
