Latest news with #ZakariaZubeidi
Arab News
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Released Palestinian Zakaria Zubeidi blames West for Israel's occupation
LONDON: One of the most prominent Palestinian figures freed this week by Israel as part of the Gaza ceasefire has blamed Western countries for the Israeli 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.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'They're the ones who wronged us': Freed Palestinian prisoner Zakaria Zubeidi rebukes UK and US over 'harm they've caused'
One of the most high-profile prisoners to be released by Israel has told Sky News that the world has ignored Palestinians and says Britain is one of the countries he blames for taking away his freedom. Zakaria Zubeidi was imprisoned in 2019 after being found guilty by an Israeli military court of involvement in terrorism. He was released as part of the ceasefire agreement and welcomed back to the West Bank by crowds of well-wishers, including the man who was prime minister less than a year ago. Analysis: In his first interview with a European broadcaster, Zubeidi told Sky News he still believes in "a resistance that will lead us to freedom" but claimed that Israeli occupation of the West Bank was wholly down to the international community. "My life is worthless without freedom," he said, speaking in Ramallah. "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." Zubeidi, whose mother, brother and son have all died as a result of Israeli military action, has admitted involvement in a 2002 bombing that killed six people. However, he has also been acclaimed by many in the West Bank as a symbol of the resistance. He was famously part of a group of prisoners who briefly escaped their Israeli jail after using kitchen utensils to dig a tunnel. "My message to the Palestinian people is to prioritise their safety and well-being because the assault being carried out against them is immense. I have no message for the occupation [Israel]," he said. "My message is to the world - the same world that granted the occupation the right to live on my land - to grant me my freedom." In common with many other released prisoners, he claimed to have been beaten while behind bars, saying: "The situation in Israeli prisons is extremely harsh. We've witnessed it all: severe beatings, attack dogs, relentless insults. Every form of abuse imaginable has been inflicted on the bodies of our prisoners." While many in Israel will consider Zubeidi to be a dangerous, murderous extremist, he is considered a totemic figure in the West Bank, and a natural leader in Jenin, where he grew up in a refugee camp. After being released, Israeli authorities banned him from returning to Jenin. Instead, he has remained in Ramallah, where a long line of people came to a school building to shake his hand and hug him. Among them, former prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, who resigned less than a year ago. He embraced Zubeidi and told Sky News the release of prisoners could be a catalyst for an enduring peace deal. "We would like to see all prisoners released and we would like to see all hostages going home," said Mr Shtayyeh. He continued: "It's a historic moment for everybody. It's time for this bloodshed to stop. And I think it is a moment of truth for everybody. "In Gaza, 60,000 people have been killed, more than 120,000 have been injured. And of course, there have been so many casualties in Israel, too. "We know that. And this time Palestinians are desperate for peace. We want a genuine peace process that does really bring peace and justice for everybody." More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive, according to Hamas-run authorities in Gaza, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The offensive followed Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, when it took 250 people hostage and killed around 1,200 others.
Sky News
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
'They're the ones who wronged us': Freed Palestinian prisoner Zakaria Zubeidi rebukes UK and US over 'harm they've caused'
One of the most high-profile prisoners to be released by Israel has told Sky News that the world has ignored Palestinians and says Britain is one of the countries he blames for taking away his freedom. Zakaria Zubeidi was imprisoned in 2019 after being found guilty by an Israeli military court of involvement in terrorism. He was released as part of the ceasefire agreement and welcomed back to the West Bank by crowds of well-wishers, including the man who was prime minister less than a year ago. In his first interview with a European broadcaster, Zubeidi told Sky News he still believes in "a resistance that will lead us to freedom" but claimed that Israeli occupation of the West Bank was wholly down to the international community. "My life is worthless without freedom," he said, speaking in Ramallah. "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." Zubeidi, whose mother, brother and son have all died as a result of Israeli military action, has admitted involvement in a 2002 bombing that killed six people. However, he has also been acclaimed by many in the West Bank as a symbol of the resistance. He was famously part of a group of prisoners who briefly escaped their Israeli jail after using kitchen utensils to dig a tunnel. "My message to the Palestinian people is to prioritise their safety and well-being because the assault being carried out against them is immense. I have no message for the occupation [Israel]," he said. "My message is to the world - the same world that granted the occupation the right to live on my land - to grant me my freedom." In common with many other released prisoners, he claimed to have been beaten while behind bars, saying: "The situation in Israeli prisons is extremely harsh. We've witnessed it all: severe beatings, attack dogs, relentless insults. Every form of abuse imaginable has been inflicted on the bodies of our prisoners." While many in Israel will consider Zubeidi to be a dangerous, murderous extremist, he is considered a totemic figure in the West Bank, and a natural leader in Jenin, where he grew up in a refugee camp. After being released, Israeli authorities banned him from returning to Jenin. Instead, he has remained in Ramallah, where a long line of people came to a school building to shake his hand and hug him. Among them, former prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, who resigned less than a year ago. He embraced Zubeidi and told Sky News the release of prisoners could be a catalyst for an enduring peace deal. "We would like to see all prisoners released and we would like to see all hostages going home," said Mr Shtayyeh. He continued: "It's a historic moment for everybody. It's time for this bloodshed to stop. And I think it is a moment of truth for everybody. "In Gaza, 60,000 people have been killed, more than 120,000 have been injured. And of course, there have been so many casualties in Israel, too. "We know that. And this time Palestinians are desperate for peace. We want a genuine peace process that does really bring peace and justice for everybody." More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive, according to Hamas-run authorities in Gaza, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The offensive followed Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, when it took 250 people hostage and killed around 1,200 others.
Al-Ahram Weekly
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Zakaria Al-Zubaidi: Symbol of Palestinian resistance freed in prisoner swap! - War on Gaza
Zakaria Zubeidi, A prominent leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah), and a former member of Fatah's Revolutionary Council, was released Thursday as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Zubeidi, 49, is one of the most high-profile of 110 prisoners, including 30 minors, freed in exchange for three Israelis, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group said. Born in 1976, he has a long history of resistance, having carried out numerous operations in the West Bank against the Israeli occupation and leading the Brigades' military activities during the Second Intifada (2000-2005). Zubeidi rose to prominence during the Second Intifada, a Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s, becoming one of the best-known resistance leaders in Jenin and its refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. It was during the uprising that Zubeidi's mother was shot and killed when the Israeli occupation army raided the camp. Palestinian prisoner Zakaria Zubeidi is free. — PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) January 30, 2025 Long years of resistance Zubeidi became active with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party after a stint in prison in 1989 at age 14. Re-arrested in 1990, he rose through the ranks and eventually became leader of Fatah's armed wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, in Jenin. Released again in 1994 under the Oslo Accords, he joined the newly created Palestinian Authority's security forces in the West Bank city of Jericho and other former inmates. In 2001, Zubeidi was injured in an accidental explosion during a "military mission" that caused severe burns on his face and eyes still visible today. Zubeidi remained a fugitive until 2007 when he agreed to hand over his weapons to the Palestinian Authority. The deal saw Zubeidi's name removed from Israel's list of wanted individuals. But in 2011, Israel revoked Zubeidi's amnesty without disclosing why and arrested him in 2019. Zubeidi, known as a power broker in Jenin, as well as one of the few inmates to have escaped Israel's high-security Gilboa Prison, in 2021, has survived several assassination attempts by Israel. With five other prisoners, he escaped through a tunnel dug under the prison walls but was recaptured five days later. Theatre Zubeidi also became involved in theatre in Jenin, a densely populated refugee camp established in the early 1950s to house Palestinians who were expelled from their homes by Zionist militias during the Nakba and the creation of Israel. As a child, he joined activities in Arna's House, a community space and theatre founded by Israeli activist Arna Mer-Khamis for the camp's youth, located in the same building that his family lived. In a 2002 raid, the Israeli occupation army destroyed the community playhouse, which was later rebuilt and renamed the Freedom Theatre. After the 2007 amnesty, Zubeidi returned to Jenin and was involved again with the camp's theatre. In the same period, he also became openly critical of the Palestinian Authority. During his years in jail, three of Zubeidi's brothers, as well as his son Muhammad, were killed by the Israeli occupation military. Sources close to Zubeidi said that his first plans upon release were to visit the grave of his son, whose funeral he missed while in jail. *This story was edited by Ahram Online. Short link:
Middle East Eye
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Zakaria Zubeidi: From refugee theatre kid to Palestinian resistance fighter
With the Hamas-Israel ceasefire continuing to hold, another tranche of Palestinian detainees have been released in exchange for Israeli captives. Arguably the most high-profile figure to be included this time is Zakaria Zubeidi. Zubeidi was the head of the Jenin branch of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, an armed group founded by Fatah during the Second Intifada in 2000. Long a symbolic figure of the occupied West Bank's resistance against Israel, Zubeidi was jailed in 2019, breaking out in a five-day prison escape in 2021 before being recaptured. Over the years he became iconic for his work not just as a resistance fighter but through his involvement in Jenin's Freedom Theatre, a world-famous cultural centre in the city's refugee camp. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters His release will likely be welcomed by many in Palestine who have become otherwise disillusioned with other political leaders. Life of resistance Zubeidi was born in 1976 in Jenin refugee camp to a family who were expelled from Caesarea in what is now northwestern Israel during the Nakba in 1948. His father became a member of Fatah, the secular Arab nationalist political party founded in 1959 with the aim of liberating historic Palestine from the Israelis. Like most Palestinians, his experience of the Israeli occupation coloured his earliest memories. Israel's attack on the Freedom Theatre in Jenin camp is part of a cultural genocide Read More » In a rare interview he gave to the Sunday Times in 2006 he spoke about taking part in the First Intifada in 1987, the uprising in the West Bank and Gaza that raised the profile of the plight of Palestinians in the occupied territories. "I had already been injured by soldiers, then I was sent to prison for six months," he said, referring to being shot in the leg for throwing stones the previous year. "There they made me the representative of the other child prisoners and I started taking their problems to the head of the jail." As a child, Zubeidi became involved in Jenin refugee camp's community-driven theatre projects, which involved both Palestinian and Israeli children attempting to address a range of issues including the occupation and PTSD. The initiative was launched by Arna Mer-Khamis, an Israeli communist and rights activist whose half-Palestinian son Juliano Mer Khamis would later form the Freedom Theatre with Zubeidi in 2006. Although a formative experience, his relationship with the Israeli volunteers involved in the camp theatre projects as a child would leave a bitter taste and colour his view of the Israel "peace camp". In 2002, his mother was shot dead by an Israeli sniper while taking refuge in a neighbour's house in Jenin camp. 'From midnight until morning I prepare for death. I don't sleep at night. I don't sleep at all. I wait for death' - Zakaria Zubeidi, speaking during Second Intifada "Not one of those people who came to the camp and were our guests as part of the theatre group, fed every day by my mother, called to say they were sorry my family had died," he told the Sunday Times. "Not one of them picked up a phone." In 1993, Zubeidi joined the security forces of the newly created Palestinian Authority. The body was established as part of the Oslo Accords, giving nominally devolved power to Palestinians in parts of the occupied territories. Fatah leader and friend Yasser Arafat was elected president and Zubeidi supported the negotiations that were supposed to eventually lead to an independent Palestinian state. By the end of the century, however, Zubeidi had become disillusioned both with Israel's willingness to agree to Palestinian demands and the nepotism and corruption that he saw as embedded in the PA. Intifada In 2000, the Second Intifada began and Zubeidi joined the armed resistance to Israeli occupation. The violent uprising would see thousands of Palestinians and Israelis killed over the next five years. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades was formed by Fatah members to fight in the Intifada, though it would split from the party officially in 2007. It carried out numerous operations targeting Israel during the Intifada, including suicide bombings. As head of the Jenin branch, Zubaidi would become de facto chief of security in the refugee camp and its main power broker. The Battle of Jenin in April 2002, which would come to be regarded as one of the Intifada's central events, saw dozens killed and homes razed to the ground, including Zubaidi's family home. Israel regularly tried to assassinate Zubaidi. Meanwhile, his relationship with the PA deteriorated over his stubborn refusal to kowtow to the leadership. "It's the journalists and television that made me a hero," he told Israeli journalists in 2005. "Anyone who is not afraid is a at night my head is about to explode with thoughts. From midnight until morning I prepare for death. I don't sleep at night. I don't sleep at all. I wait for death." Freedom Theatre In 2007, he was named as part of an amnesty offered by the Israeli prime minister's office, and threw his efforts into non-violent activity. Most notably he began the Freedom Theatre, resurrecting the community-led theatre tradition he'd grown up with. "I didn't want to become an armed resistance fighter," he later said. Zakaria Zubeidi: The Palestinian revolutionary and artistic leader who escaped Israeli prison Read More » "But this is what life gave me. I wanted to be an actor. I wanted to be Romeo. Now at The Freedom Theatre, others can have that chance." His childhood friend and co-founder Mer Khamis would later be shot dead outside the theatre by gunmen in 2011. The culprits have never been found. Despite his enthusiasm for the theatre, the ongoing occupation, disillusionment with the PA and the murder of his friends at times left Zubaidi with a sense of pessimism. Speaking to Haaretz in 2008, he denounced Palestinian politicians as "whores" and "garbage" and despaired of the collapse of Palestinian unity. "The Palestinian people is finished. Done for," he said. "Hamas comes on the air on its television station and says 'Fatah is a traitor'. That is to say, 40 percent of the nation are traitors. And then Fatah does the same thing and you already have 80 percent traitors." Prison break In December 2011, Israel announced that his amnesty had been rescinded. In May 2012, he was arrested by the PA, who reportedly abused him while in detention, leading him to begin a hunger strike. He was released without charge in October of that year. After that he began working on a master's degree at Birzeit University. His thesis was titled The Hunter and the Dragon: The Pursuit in the Palestinian Experience from 1968-2018, but his work on it was interrupted in February 2019. Zubeidi was arrested by Israel. The domestic spy agency, Shin Bet, claimed "he had shot at Israeli buses". Zubeidi remained in jail until this week's prisoner exchange - albeit with one notable break. Two and half years into his imprisonment - still with no trial date set - Zakaria, alongside five others, dug a tunnel out of their prison using a spoon and escaped. In response, Palestinian workers went on strike in solidarity, while celebrations took place across occupied Palestine. Though he was recaptured five days later, the daring escape attempt further cemented Zubeidi's heroic image in the minds of Palestinians. Although his plans after his release from prison are still unknown, he remains one of the few Fatah-affiliated figures - along with the still-imprisoned Marwan Barghouti - who claim widespread support and respect.
