Palestinian Bashir Al-Khatib freed after 35 years in Israel jails

Israeli authorities yesterday released Palestinian citizen of Israel, Bashir Al-Khatib, after holding him in jail for 35 years for resisting the occupation, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said.

Sixty-year-old Al-Khatib was detained in 1988 and sentenced to life in prison, later commuted to 35 years. He is a father of five and has eight grandchildren.

According to the Wafa news agency, Israel refused to include Al-Khatib in any prisoner exchange deal. He was due to be released in the fourth batch of prisoner releases in 2014 as part of a US-brokered deal before the Israeli government refused to comply with the terms of the agreement.

Israel continues to detain 22 veteran prisoners who were detained before the signing of the Oslo Accords. The longest serving prisoner is Muhammad Al-Tus, who has been incarcerated since 1985.

Some of the prisoners were released as part of a deal brokered with Hamas, but were later re-arrested.

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