Freedom Tunnel's Mahmoud al-Arida enters 29th year in Israeli prisons

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Palestinian Prisoners Society
21 Sep 2024 21:12

Al-Arida is one of the six detainees who managed to snatch their freedom from Gilboa Prison in September 2021, only to be detained again by the occupation forces a few days later.

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Palestinian detainee Mahmoud al-Arida

Palestinian detainee Mahmoud al-Arida entered on Saturday his 29th year in Israeli occupation prisons, confirmed the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS).

PPS Director in Jenin, Montaser Sammour, noted that al-Arida is one of the six detainees who managed to snatch their freedom from Gilboa Prison in September 2021, known as Operation Freedom Tunnel, only to be detained again by the occupation forces a few days later.

Al-Arida, 49, from the town of Arraba, south of Jenin, was first detained by Israeli occupation forces on September 21, 1996, and was sentenced to life imprisonment plus an additional 15 years for his involvement in Resistance operations that led to the deaths of Israeli soldiers.

This was not his first detention, as he had previously been imprisoned in 1992, serving 41 months in Israeli jails. Following Operation Freedom Tunnel, an Israeli court sentenced al-Arida and his five comrades to an additional five years in prison, along with a fine of 5,000 shekels.

Al-Arida was subjected to a lot of oppression during his long sentence, as he was placed in solitary confinement on June 19, 2011, and after four months of solitary, an internal court renewed his confinement for another 60 days, without stating the reason behind the decision.

The occupation's prison service reimprisoned him on June 11, 2014, after an escape tunnel was discovered in Shatta prison. He was sent to solitary for more than a year.

During his imprisonment, al-Arida completed his high school diploma and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Islamic Education. He is considered a cultural reference within the prison system and has authored several books and novels, including Al-Rawahel and The Influence of Thought on the Islamic Movement in Palestine, with some of his other works yet to be published.