First episode of The Heroes: How was the liberation idea conceived?

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"I give Al Mayadeen my approval to write the story, and we are all proud of entrusting [the network] with the documentation of the full story... Al Mayadeen TV has a great impact on our lives, and God willing, the entire Palestinian people will not forget its role." 

With these words from Palestinian prisoner Mahmoud Al-Aridah, the first episode of The Heroes begins, in which Al Mayadeen, based on the accounts of Mahmoud Al-Aridah and his five companions, presents the details of the prisoners' liberation from Gilboa Prison.

In this episode, Al Mayadeen spoke about how the idea of ​​liberation came to prisoner Mahmoud Al-Aridah and how he shared it with the other prisoners. The episode also described the Gilboa prison and its strong fortifications, which the prisoners cared little about and, consequently, were able to break from. The episode also touched on the formation of the Captive Movement and its role in the Palestinian struggle within the occupation prisons. 

Read more: The Heroes on Al Mayadeen: Full story of liberation from Gilboa Prison

It is true that there are countless stories of liberation from captivity or from imprisonment, and many liberation operations around the world began with digging. Still, when such a story comes from Gilboa prison, it is a different story, maybe even THE story.

Gilboa is not a traditional detention center. It is "The Iron Safe" as the Israelis call it. The occupation authorities put all their efforts to make it one of the most fortified prisons. Through Gilboa, the occupation wanted to render these prisoners and thousands like them forgotten, but it forgot that the struggle of the people of the land could never be restricted by a jailer.

The Gilboa prison

Gilboa prison is one that is very difficult to escape from. Any out-of-the-ordinary movements, such as knocking on walls and floors, are monitored by electronic sensors, starting from inside the cells all the way to the fences encompassing the prison.

Not only that but this prison is heavily guarded by watchtowers around the clock; only meters separate one from the other. A group of guard dogs previously placed on the prison walls was distributed over every section of the so-called maximum security prisoners.   

Searches are conducted three times a day inside Gilboa, one of which involves identifying the prisoners using their photos while reading out their full names. Also, throughout the month, inspections, described by prisoners as radical, are conducted, and they include transfers between sections. These transfers do not involve just moving the prisoners to other rooms, but also moving the whole section with all of its prisoners.

The occupation utilized academic security studies and foreign expertise to fortify its "Iron Safe", considering every single detail. The floors are reinforced with steel and topped with concrete. The rooms are fully fortified, and the doors are very thick.  

Former #CIA officer John Kiriakou on the heroes that liberated themselves from #Gilboa prison: "To escape, especially with the use of a tunnel, is so dramatic. This is the thing that movies are made of."@JohnKiriakou#TheHeroes #Palestine pic.twitter.com/6znB4uGbVJ

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) September 29, 2022

The first steps of the liberation plan

All these fortifications and strict security measures did not prevent prisoner Mahmoud Al-Aridah from keeping liberation from the prison in mind, and in Room No. 5 of Section 2, Mahmoud decided to start digging. He previously suggested the plan to Yaqoub Qadri, his partner and one of the freedom fighters of Al-Quds Brigades in the Al-Aqsa Intifada, whom the occupation tried to assassinate more than once.

Zakaria Al-Zubaidi was informed of the idea and the decision of liberation, too; therefore, he asked to move to Section 2 before he went into the cell where the operation took place right before it did.

Then, Ayham Kamamji was informed of the plan, one that is not uncommon for someone who used to deliver the sermon and lead the Friday prayer. Ayham was a renowned advocate against injustice, a fighter for freedom, and a champion of taking up arms against the occupier. 

From observation to digging and embracing freedom, Mohammad Al-Aridah was one of the most prominent activists. He was also one of the founders of Al-Quds Brigades and one of the longest-serving Palestinian prisoners. 

It is worth mentioning here that what both Yaqoub and Ayham did not know was that someone else was aware of the plan: Munadel Nafi'at. 

In the end, the four prisoners, Mahmoud, Yaqoub, Mohammad, and Ayham, met with each other in the same cell, knowing that these four heroes are not usually gathered in one room because the Gilboa prison administration does not put those who have a record in the same place. 

Despite the occupation’s classification of prisoners as "dangerous", the Gilboa prison administration was proud of disregarding many rules, as it considered the prison to be unbreachable. 

"These four were among the dangerous individuals, and they are also among the individuals who had previously tried to escape. Such people have a red identification card. Thus, they are prohibited from sitting in one room for more than 3 months," said liberated prisoner Mohammad Arandas. 

"The jailer put them as a challenge in this room as if he was telling them, 'yes, you tried before, but this prison is different from the others, so let's see if you can do anything here'," said liberated prisoner Kifah Al-Aridah.

Back to the prisoners' plan for liberation; few knew about it. What is remarkable is that other prisoners who were in the same cell knew nothing. They were in the same cell and did not notice anything. What was going around is that the prisoners were trying to find a place they could hide their cellphones.

Former chief of staff to Secretary of State Collin Powell, Lawrence Wilkerson, talks about how #OperationFreedomTunnel broke the facade of the Israeli prisons with very simple methods.#TheHeroes #Palestine pic.twitter.com/ax0ndXmUNa

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) September 29, 2022

The Captive Movement.. a history of struggle

According to the journalist and editor Annan Najeeb from Al-Quds, Operation Freedom Tunnel is part of a very long chain of struggle and achievements started by the Captive Movement inside the Israeli occupation's prison around 70 years ago.

The Captive Movement has accomplished many achievements, perhaps among the most important of which is that it forced the prison administration to acknowledge the existence of organizations it must deal with.

The occupation tried to weaken the prisoners' movements, organizations, and bodies. Gilboa prison itself witnessed repeated attempts at dividing the prisoners, the most prominent of which was in 2007, after the Gaza events. However, all the resistance factions rejected the idea of ​​separation and remained in the same sections. 

To know more details about Operation Freedom Tunnel, watch the upcoming episodes of The Heroes on Al Mayadeen at 21:00 Al-Quds time.