(NewsNation) — As Israel releases hundreds of detained Palestinians, most of the 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences will not be returning home and instead will be exiled to outside countries.
At least 154 prisoners — most of whom have been convicted for attacks on Israelis — will be deported, according to authorities.
It is still unclear where these prisoners will be sent.
The Israeli Ministry of Justice did not immediately return NewsNation’s request for a deportation plan.
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During a previous exchange in January, dozens of Palestinian prisoners had been deported to countries including Tunisia, Algeria and Turkey, reported Al Jazeera.
Of the 96 remaining convicted prisoners, 88 will be taken to the West Bank and Jerusalem, and eight to Gaza, reported NBC News.
Israel is also releasing about 1,700 Palestinians who were seized from Gaza during the war and held without charge.
Tamer Qarmout, an associate professor in public policy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera the exiles are “illegal because these are citizens of Palestine.”
“They have no other citizenships. They’re out of a small prison, but they’re sent to a bigger prison, away from their society, to new countries in which they will face major restrictions. It’s inhumane,” he said.
Deportation “means the end of their political future,” Qarmout said.
“In the countries they go to, they will face extreme constraints, so they will not be able to be active in any front related to the conflict,” he told the outlet, adding it was “a win-win for Israel.”
More than 150 prisoners were sent to Egypt by Israel and arrived at Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt early Monday afternoon, an Egyptian official who had direct knowledge of the deal’s implementation told The Associated Press.
The family of Palestinian prisoner Muhammad Imran, who was marked for exile, told Al Jazeera they were in shock when they learned he would not be returning to them.
“Today’s news was a shock, but we are still waiting. Maybe we’ll get to see him somehow,” Imran’s brother, Raed, told the outlet. “What matters is that he is released, here or abroad.”
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Imran was arrested in December 2022 and sentenced to 13 life terms.
Renana Meir, whose mother Dafna was stabbed to death in the West Bank settlement of Otniel in 2016, wrote in an Israeli newspaper on Friday that the release of her mother’s attacker is a threat to all Israelis, The New York Times reported.
But her mother would have been okay with the release in exchange for the return of Israeli hostages, Meir wrote.
“I know you would have done this without thinking twice, if it were up to you,” she said.
Fuad Kamamji, whose son Eham is among the prisoners to be exiled, told The New York Times that he is happy that his child will be out despite the challenges of them being in different nations.
“I believe my son will be out, whether among us or in exile. The important thing is that he’ll be free,” Kamamji said. “What I’m feeling now is a strong sense of relief and peace.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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