Thousands of Palestinians gathered in Ramallah on Monday to await the release of some 2,000 political prisoners and forcibly disappeared people who were taken by Israel from the West Bank, which it occupies, and Gaza, which it has waged war on for two years.Palestinians welcomed back 96 political prisoners, as well as the vast majority of people Israel detained from Gaza during the war.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThis comes as part of an exchange of 20 living and 28 deceased Israeli captives held in Gaza for the nearly 2,000 Palestinian captives.Of the more than 200 Israeli captives taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023, a total of 114 were released during two captive swaps with Hamas in November 2023 and January 2025, respectively.They were handed over in exchange for the freedom of a total of 1,240 Palestinians.Despite the brief euphoria, Israel violated ceasefires that coincided with those captive releases, arresting Palestinians across Gaza and the occupied territory wholesale, usually without charge.Here’s all you need to know about the Palestinians expected to be released as part of the ceasefire deal, as well as those who were not included in the deal and who will stay in captivity.Who is being released?A total of 250 Palestinian political prisoners who are either serving life sentences or long sentences are being released from Israeli jails.According to dat …
