Court postpones trial of prisoner who assisted Gilboa prisoners

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen Net
7 Sep 2022 00:10

The Muhjat Al-Quds Foundation cited the family of Qusai Merhi as saying that the prisoner's trial has been postponed until September 21.

Palestinian prisoner Qusai Merhi (Archive)

An Israeli occupation court postponed Tuesday the trial of prisoner Qusai Merhi, who assisted the prisoners of the Operation Freedom Tunnel to liberate themselves from the Gilboa Prison.

The Muhjat Al-Quds Foundation cited the family of Merhi as saying that the prisoner's trial has been postponed until September 21 in order for him to be brought to court.

Merhi, 23, from Jenin camp, was arrested by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on June 13, 2020, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison for throwing stones and improvised explosive devices at occupation forces.

The prisoner served the longest period of his detention in Gilboa Prison, but the occupation forces transferred him to Al-Naqab Prison two months before Operation Freedom Tunnel.

It has been one year since six #Palestinian prisoners carried out a heroic operation whereby they broke out of the Israeli #Gilboa prison through a tunnel they dug underground to the outside.#Palestine #FreedomTunnelOperation pic.twitter.com/0MOacJNqKr
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) September 6, 2022

It is noteworthy that on Tuesday, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement hailed the heroes that executed Operation Freedom Tunnel, lauding their sacrifices and heroic acts that they said would always serve as a badge of honor and a source of pride for the Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic peoples.

On the morning of September 6, 2021, six Palestinian prisoners broke out of the high-security Israeli Gilboa prison through a tunnel they dug, which led them outside the prison walls before they were arrested.

The Freedom Tunnel prisoners are Mahmoud Al-Aridah, Zakaria Al-Zubaidi, Yaqoub Qadri, Mohammad Al-Aridah, Ayham Kamamji, and Munadel Nafi'at.

Mahmoud Al-Aridah and Yaqoub Qadri were re-arrested four days later, on September 10, 2021 in Al-Nasra. Zakaria Al-Zubaidi and Mohammad Al-Aridah were re-arrested the next day, and Ayham Kamamji and Mundadel Nafi'at on Sunday the 19th, after the house they had barricaded themselves in, east of Jenin, was surrounded.

Israelis were baffled, to say the least, as they looked at the tunnel dug underneath them in one of the most heroic prison breaks that shook Israeli security complex to its core.

Here's the Israeli shock after the #FreedomTunnelOperation.#Palestine pic.twitter.com/jZ3rhKuLFv
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) September 6, 2022

Al-Nakhalah sends letter to prisoners of Operation Freedom Tunnel

Earlier, PIJ Secretary-General Ziad Al-Nakhalah sent a letter to the six heroes of Operation Freedom Tunnel, on the first anniversary of the operation.

Addressing the six prisoners, Al-Nakhalah said, "Your miraculous deed ignited a new revolution and ignited bullets across the land that did not surrender to occupation."

"Last year, on this day, the occupation soldiers were chasing you throughout Palestine, and your destination was Jenin, which we love," he added.

In his letter, Al-Nakhalah affirmed that with their operation, the heroic prisoners boosted the morale of the resistance of the Palestinian people.

"Your freedom, which you created by your own free will, has once again ignited the spark of resistance," the PIJ Secretary-General told the six prisoners, adding that "this spark has been in action for a year now, and no one can stop the will that emerged from Operation Freedom Tunnel."

Al-Nakhalah pointed to the role of Operation Freedom Tunnel in forming an awareness of resistance and victory among the Palestinian generations, assuring the six prisoners that they removed fear and planted hope in the hearts of the rising generations, from the midst of silence, destruction of homes, cancerous Israeli settlements, and the killer IOF patrols.

The resistance's audience commemorated the first anniversary of Operation Freedom Tunnel through several activities. During an interview with Al Mayadeen Net, liberated Arab prisoners from Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan expressed their pride in Operation Freedom Tunnel, which broke the prestige of the Israeli occupation.

The liberated prisoners stressed that the six prisoners not only challenged and broke the will of the occupation, but also drew a new model for the open confrontation between the prisoners and the Israeli occupation forces.