Released Palestinian Zakaria Zubeidi blames West for Israel's occupation
Zakaria Zubeidi, a former militant commander in the West Bank, received a hero's welcome when he arrived in Ramallah late on Thursday after his release by Israel.
The 49-year-old, who grew up in a refugee camp in Jenin, was jailed in 2019 after an Israeli military court convicted him of involvement in terrorism.
In an interview with Sky News, Zubeidi said he still believed in 'a resistance that will lead us to freedom,' but claimed that Israel's occupation of the West Bank had been allowed to continue by the international community.
He added: 'Freedom has no price. But the world that has denied me my freedom — particularly Britain, France, and the United States — must return what they have taken from me and my children.
'They are the ones who need to reconsider their mistakes, not me.
'They are the ones who have wronged us, and they should think about rectifying the harm they have caused to me and my children.'
Such is Zubeidi's popularity that he was greeted by the former Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.
'Palestinians are desperate for peace,' Shtayyeh said. 'We want a genuine peace process that does really bring peace and justice for everybody.'
A long line of people at a school in Ramallah also waited to shake Zubeidi's hand and hug him.
Zubeidi has been banned from returning to Jenin, where Israeli forces have launched military operations after switching their focus from Gaza to the West Bank.
Zubeidi has admitted a role in a bombing attack in 2002 during the Second Intifada that killed six Israeli civilians.
During that period he was the head of the Jenin Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the military wing of the Fatah political party.
Zubeidi's father was arrested by Israel for being a Fatah member when Zubeidi was a child. Later, as a teenager, he was shot in the leg while throwing stones at Israeli soldiers.
Zubeidi's mother and brother were killed in 2002 during Israeli military operations in Jenin.
His mother had hosted a theater group in Jenin to promote understanding between Palestinians and Israelis, which Zubeidi attended.
He was among six prisoners who escaped in 2021 by digging a tunnel with dining plates, before being captured five days later.
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