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Ayse Barim, a renowned manager of Turkish television stars, has always steered clear of politics, but that did not help her escape prison on charges of “attempting to overthrow the government”. Barim, put into pre-trial detention on Monday, joined a long list of personalities being prosecuted by the authorities, a move denounced by opposition parties that accuse the government of using the judiciary to intimidate dissidents. The charges against Barim date back to 2013 when protests started over the government’s urbanisation plans of Gezi park in the heart of Istanbul. Prosecutors accuse her of “pushing” her actors to take part in anti-government demos, a claim she denies. Famous actors including Halit Ergenc, star of the world-famous Turkish series “The Magnificent Century”, are also under judicial scrutiny as part of the same probe. Ergenc was summoned for questioning last Friday.For Mehmet Esen, actor and former president of the Turkish Film Workers’ Union, it is an attempt to put a stranglehold on the cultural sector, one of the few realms not entirely controlled by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s conservative government. “Artists have great influence in Turkey. What’s more, most of them are dissidents. They take a stand against injustice. It’s clear that the government wants to break that,” Esen said.- Power struggle -Speeches delivered by artists at film festival ceremonies, or the scripts of some Turkish TV series that break audience records, are often critical of the government and touch on pressing issues in society including women’s rights or the polarisation between conservatives and secularists. “The cultural sphere has become an area of power struggle between the opposition and the government,” said Goksel Aymaz, a sociologist at Marmara University in Istanbul. According to Aymaz, even if Barim was not politically engaged, this did not prevent the government from deeming her “a force” behind the Gezi protests. “As long as she’s a prominent figure in the series sector, it doesn’t matter whether she’s politicised or not,” he said. “The government’s aim is to reshape the industry by imposing its own influence, in order to perpetuate its power.”-Istanbul mayor targeted-Turkish authorities regularly target journalists, lawyers and elected political representatives, especially since the failed 2016 coup against the government. In mid-January, prosecutors opened an investigation against the Istanbul Bar Association on charges of “spreading terrorist propaganda”, accusing it of links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), listed as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies. The probe was opened because lawyers had called for an investigation into the death of two Turkish Kurdish journalists in Syria in late December, in an area where Kurdish fighters were operating.Since local elections in March last year, 10 opposition mayors have also been arrested, removed from office and replaced by government-appointed administrators.And on Tuesday, three journalists from the opposition TV station Halk TV were arrested for broadcasting an interview with a forensic expert in an investigation into Istanbul’s popular Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.Two of them were released under judicial control Wednesday.Imamoglu, Erdogan’s main political rival, was summoned to appear before the public prosecutor on Friday, even though he is already the target of numerous other legal proceedings.According to observers, the investigation targeting the television sector could also be aimed at Imamoglu, who was re-elected with fanfare as mayor of Turkey’s largest city. Pro-government daily Yeni Safak has already accused Barim of using her influence to support the mayor. “The power of justice is being abused to spread fear in all strata of society. We are not afraid and we will not remain silent”, Imamoglu commented on X. His main opposition CHP party also denounced what it described as a “climate of fear”. “The government is trying to discourage civil society by showing that it can neutralise the journalists or politicians it trusts,” political scientist Mesut Yegen said on the private broadcaster Ilke TV on Tuesday. “Thus it is trying to prevent any street movement that might lead to a call for early elections,” he said.

European stock markets rose Thursday as the European Central Bank cut interest rates again while US shares were steady after a mixed bag of company earnings reports. European markets advanced across the board after the ECB trimmed interest rates for the fifth time since June as inflation eases and the eurozone economy stagnates.In New York, major …

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US President Donald Trump insisted Thursday that Egypt and Jordan would take in displaced Gazans, despite the two Arab nations dismissing his plan to move Palestinians from the territory.Trump’s comments came a day after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II rejecting any forced displacement of Gazans following the war between Hamas and Israel.”They will do it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked for his response to the Egyptian and Jordanian refusal, and whether he would consider imposing tariffs on either country to push them.”They’re going to do it. We do a lot for them, and they’re going to do it.”After an Israel-Hamas ceasefire took effect on January 19, Trump last week floated a plan to “clean out” the Gaza Strip and for Palestinians to move to “safer” locations such as Egypt or Jordan.He said the 15-month war had reduced the Palestinian territory to a “demolition site.”Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff made a rare trip to Gaza this week, the White House said, in a bid to prop up the fragile ceasefire. He also met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Egypt’s Sisi, a key US ally, had said on Wednesday in his first public response to Trump’s comments that displacing “the Palestinian people from their land is an injustice that we cannot take part in.”Jordan’s King Abdullah II separately stressed his country’s “firm position on the need to keep the Palestinians on their land.” Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, both Egypt and Jordan have warned of plans to displace Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank across their borders.

Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, promised Thursday to hold a “national dialogue conference” in his first address to the nation since the fall of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad.Sharaa, who was appointed interim president a day earlier for an unspecified transitional period, vowed to preserve “civil peace” and Syria’s territorial unity.”We will announce in the coming days a committee charged with preparing the national dialogue conference, a direct platform for discussions, to listen to different points of view on our future political programme,” Sharaa said in the prerecorded televised address.Sharaa also committed to issuing a “constitutional declaration” to serve as a “legal reference” during the country’s transition, following the suspension of the old constitution.And he vowed to “pursue the criminals who shed Syrian blood and committed massacres and crimes”, whether they were in Syria or abroad, and to establish “real transitional justice” after Assad’s fall.The speech followed a visit by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, who emphasised the “urgent need” to form an inclusive government during a meeting with Sharaa, according to the Qatari royal court.The emir’s trip to Damascus was the first by a head of state since Islamist-led rebels seized power less than two months ago. It also follows a visit by Qatar’s prime minister this month.The emir “stressed the urgent need to form a government representing all spectrums” of Syrian society in order “to consolidate stability and move forward with reconstruction, development and prosperity projects”, the royal court statement said, congratulating Sharaa on his appointment.Syria’s new authorities on Wednesday said Sharaa had also been tasked with forming a transitional legislature. They announced the dissolution of all armed groups involved in Assad’s overthrow, as well as the former government’s army.A transitional government had previously been appointed to steer the multi-ethnic, multi-confessional country until March 1.Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said discussions with the Qatari delegation touched on reconstruction in the country devastated by nearly 14 years of civil war.- ‘Historic visit’ -Unlike other Arab countries, Qatar did not restore diplomatic ties with Syria under Assad and was one of the first to back the armed rebellion that erupted after his government crushed a peaceful uprising in 2011.Several visiting foreign officials have urged an inclusive transition after Sharaa’s Islamist group led the offensive that ousted Assad on December 8.Qatari foreign ministry official Mohammed al-Khulaifi welcomed Wednesday’s announcement by Syria’s authorities “on the end of the revolutionary phase and the transition to the phase of establishing the state”.Doha would continue “to provide the required support on all humanitarian and service levels, and also regarding infrastructure and electricity”, he said.Qatar was the second country, after Turkey, to reopen its embassy in Damascus following Assad’s overthrow. It has urged the lifting of sanctions.During a visit earlier this month, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani pledged to support the rehabilitation of Syria’s infrastructure.A diplomatic source has also said Qatar was weighing plans to assist Syria with public sector salaries.- Regional congratulations -Saudi Arabia’s king and crown prince on Thursday congratulated Sharaa on assuming Syria’s interim presidency.Riyadh was key to returning Assad’s Syria to the Arab League in 2023, after openly championing his overthrow following Damascus’s 2011 crackdown on pro-democracy protests, which sparked war.”We are pleased to express our congratulations on the occasion of your assumption of the presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic in the transitional phase,” King Salman said in a cable, according to the foreign ministry.Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi prime minister and de facto ruler under his ageing father, sent a separate cable also offering his congratulations, the statement said.Last week, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister visited Damascus, promising help to secure the lifting of international sanctions imposed during Assad’s rule.Shaibani travelled to Riyadh early in January for his first official trip abroad, and also visited Qatar during a regional tour.Jordan’s King Abdullah II also congratulated Sharaa on Thursday, wishing him “success in leading Syria and serving its people”.Amid a flurry of diplomatic activity, a delegation from Russia, a close ally of ousted leader Assad, visited this week, while foreign ministers or senior officials from countries including France, Germany and Turkey have also been to Damascus.Syria’s defence ministry said Thursday that a high-level Turkish military delegation also visited the country.burs-tgg/dv/smw

A freed ex-militant received a hero’s welcome in the occupied West Bank on Thursday after chaos during a Gaza hostage release briefly delayed the third Israel-Hamas exchange under a ceasefire deal.At around dusk, two buses carrying released inmates left from the West Bank’s Ofer Prison after Israel said it had received assurances from mediators over the future “safe release” of captives.Hundreds of joyous Palestinians greeted them when they arrived in Ramallah, an AFP correspondent said.Flashing a victory sign, the first to disembark was Zakaria Zubeidi, 49, a former top militant leader jailed for attacks that killed several Israelis.The cheering crowd immediately hoisted him onto their shoulders.Israel’s prison service confirmed it had freed 110 inmates in the latest hostage-prisoner swap under the January 19 ceasefire deal aimed at ending the war in Gaza.Earlier in the day, after more than 15 months of captivity, three Israelis were freed by militants in Gaza alongside five Thais who were also captured in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.Netanyahu had denounced what he called “shocking scenes” during the hostage releases in Khan Yunis, where television images showed gunmen struggling to control hundreds of Gazans seeking to witness the handover.First to be freed Thursday was 20-year-old Israeli soldier Agam Berger, who was handed over to officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Jabalia, northern Gaza.Before her release, footage showed her on a stage with masked Hamas members in distinctive green headbands, being prompted to wave to onlookers.The Red Cross said it facilitated the latest hostage-prisoner exchange but urged all parties to improve security and uphold agreements.”The security of these operations must be assured, and we urge for improvements in the future,” ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement.Another hostage and prisoner release is scheduled for Saturday, with three Israeli men set to be freed.- ‘Thank you God’ -All the freed Israeli and Thai hostages were taken to hospitals after their return to Israel, the military said.The two other freed Israelis are civilians Gadi Moses, 80, and Arbel Yehud, 29, both of whom also hold German nationality.Yehud’s family, still awaiting the release of her partner and brother from Gaza, urged future releases to go ahead unhindered.”We urge everyone not to let this open door close. Everyone must be brought home immediately so that we can heal as a society,” the family said.Footage released by the Israeli military showed Moses, 80, in the tearful embrace of his family during their reunion at a reception centre in southern Israel.Netanyahu’s office named the freed Thais as Watchara Sriaoun, Pongsak Tanna, Sathian Suwannakham, Surasak Lamnau and Bannawat Saethao.”It is confirmed everyone, my son did not die. Thank you, God,” a sobbing Wiwwaeo Sriaoun said at her home in rural Thailand as she heard confirmation her farm worker son was among those freed.In war-devastated Khan Yunis, dense crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of Yehud and Moses near the childhood home of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who Israel killed in October.On August 1, Israel’s military had announced the killing of the Hamas military chief, Mohammed Deif, but Hamas had never confirmed his death — until a statement from the group on Thursday announced his “martyrdom”.The ceasefire hinges on the release of Israeli hostages taken during Hamas’s 2023 attack, in exchange for around 1,900 people — mostly Palestinians — in Israeli custody.The truce deal has allowed a surge of aid into Gaza, where the war has created a long-running humanitarian crisis.But Hamas accused Israel of slowing aid deliveries, with one official citing key items such as fuel, tents, heavy machinery and other equipment.COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, called this “totally fake news”.As the text of the agreement — mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States — has not been made public, AFP was unable to verify its terms on aid.- Displacement ‘injustice’ -The ceasefire deal is currently in its first, 42-day phase, which should see 33 hostages freed in stages, excluding the Thais.Negotiations for a second phase of the deal should start next Monday, according to a timeline given earlier by an Israeli official. This phase would cover the release of the remaining captives, the Times of Israel has reported.US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for sealing the agreement, which took effect before his inauguration, and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who took part in the talks, met Netanyahu in Israel on Wednesday.Trump has invited Netanyahu to the White House on February 4, according to the premier’s office.More than 376,000 displaced Palestinians have gone back to northern Gaza since Israel reopened access this week, according to the UN humanitarian office OCHA, with many returning to little more than rubble.”My house is destroyed,” 33-year-old Mohammed al-Faleh told AFP.”The biggest problem is that there is no water,” he added. “Food aid is reaching Gaza… but there is no gas or electricity. We bake bread on a fire fuelled by wood and nylon.”Israel cut ties with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) from Thursday following accusations some of its staff belong to Hamas.UNRWA has long been the lead agency in coordinating aid to Gaza, and the United Nations said on Thursday it would continue working in all Palestinian territories despite the Israeli legislation.

The United Nations said Thursday that its aid agency UNRWA would continue working in all Palestinian territories, including east Jerusalem, even as Israel cut ties with the organisation.After Israel accused UNRWA of providing cover for Hamas militants, legislation severing ties with the agency came into force on Thursday, a move likely to hamper its vital services after 15 months of war in Gaza.The agency is banned from operating on Israeli soil, and contact between it and Israeli officials is also forbidden.But Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres said: “UNRWA clinics across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are open. Meanwhile, the humanitarian operations in Gaza continues, including with UNRWA work there.”UNRWA has provided support for Palestinian refugees around the Middle East for more than 70 years, but has long clashed with Israeli officials, who have repeatedly accused it of undermining the country’s security.The hostility intensified following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, with accusations that UNRWA employees took part in the assault.After the law came into effect, the Norwegian government said Thursday it would contribute $24 million to the agency.”Gaza is in ruins, and UNRWA’s help is more necessary than ever,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said.- ‘Blatant violation’ -Turkey condemned the Israeli move as “a blatant violation of international law”, and said it “marks a new phase in Israel’s policies of occupation and annexation aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians from their own land”.Israel, however, defended the decision.”Humanitarian aid doesn’t equal UNRWA, and UNRWA doesn’t equal humanitarian aid. UNRWA equals an organisation infested with Hamas terror activity,” foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein wrote on X ahead of the ban.The agency’s offices and staff in Israel play a major role in the provision of healthcare and education to Palestinians, including those living in Gaza, which has been devastated by the war between Israel and Hamas.Government spokesman David Mencer said Wednesday that the agency “employs over 1,200 Hamas members, including terrorists who carried out the October 7 massacre”, adding that “if a state funds UNRWA, that state is funding terrorists”.Later on Wednesday, Israel’s supreme court rejected a petition by Palestinian human rights group Adalah contesting the ban, but noted the legislation only forbade UNRWA operations on “the sovereign territory of the State of Israel”, not in Gaza and the West Bank.The ban does apply, however, to Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, where UNRWA has a field headquarters for its operations in the West Bank.In response, Adalah said the law would come into effect “disregarding the catastrophic humanitarian consequences”.-‘Irreplaceable’- The move, which has been backed by Israel’s main supporter the United States, has drawn condemnation from aid groups and US allies.The agency says it has brought in 60 percent of the food aid that has reached Gaza since the war started with Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel.Israeli envoy to the United Nations Danny Danon told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that UNRWA must cease its operations and evacuate all premises it operates in annexed east Jerusalem on Thursday.In response, UN chief Antonio Guterres demanded that Israel rescind its order.”I regret this decision and request that the government of Israel retract it,” he said, stressing UNRWA was “irreplaceable”.The agency’s chief, Philippe Lazzarini, said UNRWA’s capacity to distribute aid “far exceeds that of any other entity”.He called Israel’s actions against UNRWA a “relentless assault… harming the lives and future of Palestinians across the occupied Palestinian territory”.Israel alleges a dozen UNRWA employees were involved in the 2023 attack, and insists other agencies can step in to provide essential services, aid and reconstruction — something the UN and many donor governments dispute.A series of investigations, including one led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some “neutrality-related issues” at UNRWA, but stressed Israel had not provided evidence for its headline allegation.burs-csp/jd/smw

Islamic Jihad and Hamas fighters struggled to hold back a crowd of hundreds in a chaotic handover of two Israeli and five Thai hostages in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza on Thursday.Spectators surged forwards, some trying to take pictures, as 80-year-old Gadi Moses and 29-year-old Arbel Yehud, both Israeli-German, were transferred to Red Cross vehicles along with five Thai hostages. In images broadcast briefly before Yehud’s family asked for them not to be shown, masked fighters wearing body armour and carrying automatic weapons were seen struggling to clear a path through the crowd for her.Wearing an overcoat and a pink hoodie, she was visibly distressed among the sea of people. She was later seen in a Red Cross vehicle along with Moses.The Israeli prime minister’s office named the five Thais released as Watchara Sriaoun, Pongsak Tanna, Sathian Suwannakham, Surasak Lamnau and Bannawat Saethao.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed what he described as the “shocking scenes” during the handover.”This is yet another proof of the unimaginable cruelty of the Hamas terrorist organisation,” Netanyahu said in a statement.”Whoever dares to harm our hostages will pay the price.”Later, the Israeli military released images of Moses’s emotional reunion with his family at a reception centre in southern Israel.In footage, he is seen being embraced by his three children on all sides, their faces breaking into tearful smiles. Hundreds of Palestinians had gathered in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza near the childhood home of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Thursday in anticipation of the hostages being released.Curious onlookers clambered over smashed concrete on the upper floors of buildings, devastated in more than 15 months of war with Israel in Gaza, hoping to catch a glimpse of Moses and Yehud.”We came to witness these historic moments of handing over the prisoners. We feel proud of the resistance — they preserved the lives of the prisoners throughout the days of the occupation’s war of extermination,” Mohammed Al-Astal, 32, told AFP.”The resistance’s choice of the home of the martyred leader Yahya Sinwar for the handover encouraged thousands of citizens to participate and celebrate the ceremony. Everyone is eager for moments of joy,” he added.Hamas and Islamic Jihad sources said that more than 100 Islamic Jihad fighters were deployed to Khan Yunis for the exchange.- Certificate and gift bag -Earlier, Israeli soldier Agam Berger was freed amid the gutted buildings of Jabalia in northern Gaza in a more organised handover. Wearing green, military-style fatigues, she was handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross after being led briefly onto a makeshift stage flanked by Hamas fighters, only their eyes visible through their masks.The 20-year-old, who was handed a gift bag and a golden-framed certificate to mark the end of her ordeal, kept a steady gaze on the platform, breaking it only when she was urged by a Hamas cameraman to wave to the crowd.She complied without enthusiasm.In Tel Aviv, crowds shouted with joy as Berger’s release was broadcast.At Bellinson Hospital in central Israel, former hostages Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Daniella Gilboa and Karina Ariev, who were released last week, celebrated their friend’s release.Dozens of fighters from Hamas’s Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades brandishing assault rifles and conspicuous in their bright-green headbands climbed into pickups as they escorted the Red Cross vehicles out of Jabalia refugee camp.Hamas put on a display of strength in the north of the Palestinian territory, which sustained huge damage during an Israeli operation that continued right up to the eve of the January 19 ceasefire.Fighters stood guard on mounds of sand piled high by Israeli bulldozers and surrounded by gutted buildings.On the concrete skeleton of one building, its top floors pancaked by strikes, a huge Palestinian flag had been draped down five floors.

Visiting Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani emphasised the “urgent need” to form an inclusive Syrian government during a meeting Thursday with the country’s new interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa, the Qatari royal court said.The emir’s trip to Damascus — the first by a head of state since Islamist-led rebels toppled president Bashar al-Assad less than two months ago — comes a day after Sharaa was appointed interim president for an unspecified transitional period.It also follows a visit by Qatar’s prime minister this month.The emir “stressed the urgent need to form a government representing all spectrums” of Syrian society in order “to consolidate stability and move forward with reconstruction, development and prosperity projects”, the royal court statement said, congratulating Sharaa on his appointment.Syria’s new authorities on Wednesday said Sharaa had also been tasked with forming a transitional legislature. They announced the dissolution of all armed groups involved in Assad’s overthrow, as well as the former government’s army.A transitional government had previously been appointed to steer the multi-ethnic, multi-confessional country until March 1.Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said discussions with the Qatari delegation included reconstruction in the country devastated by nearly 14 years of civil war.”We discussed a comprehensive framework for bilateral cooperation concerning reconstruction,” Shaibani said during a press conference with Qatari Minister of State at the foreign ministry, Mohammed al-Khulaifi.He said their talks covered “vital sectors including infrastructure… investment and banking services, paving the way for economic recovery, health and education”.- ‘Historic visit’ -Unlike other Arab countries, Qatar did not restore diplomatic ties with Syria under Assad and was one of the first to back the armed rebellion that erupted after his government crushed a peaceful uprising in 2011.Several visiting foreign officials have urged an inclusive transition after Sharaa’s Islamist group led the offensive that ousted Assad on December 8.Khulaifi welcomed Wednesday’s announcement by Syria’s authorities “on the end of the revolutionary phase and the transition to the phase of establishing the state”.Doha would continue “to provide the required support on all humanitarian and service levels, and also regarding infrastructure and electricity”, he said.Qatar was the second country, after Turkey, to reopen its embassy in Damascus following Assad’s overthrow. It has urged the lifting of sanctions.During a visit earlier this month, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani pledged to support the rehabilitation of Syria’s infrastructure.He said the agreement included providing Syria with 200 megawatts of power and gradually increasing production.A diplomatic source has also said Qatar was weighing plans to assist Syria with public sector salaries.- Regional congratulations -Saudi Arabia’s king and crown prince on Thursday congratulated Sharaa on assuming Syria’s interim presidency.Riyadh was key to returning Assad’s Syria to the Arab League in 2023, after openly championing his overthrow following Damascus’s 2011 crackdown on pro-democracy protests, which sparked war.”We are pleased to express our congratulations on the occasion of your assumption of the presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic in the transitional phase,” King Salman said in a cable, according to the foreign ministry.Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi prime minister and de facto ruler under his ageing father, sent a separate cable also offering his congratulations, the statement said.Last week, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister visited Damascus, promising help to secure the lifting of international sanctions imposed during Assad’s rule.Shaibani travelled to Riyadh early in January for his first official trip abroad, and also visited Qatar during a regional tour.Jordan’s King Abdullah II also congratulated Sharaa on Thursday, wishing him “success in leading Syria and serving its people”.On December 23, Qatar’s Khulaifi led the first high-level delegation from his country to Damascus after the 13-year diplomatic rift.Amid a flurry of diplomatic activity, a delegation from Russia, a close ally of ousted leader Assad, visited this week, while foreign ministers or senior officials from countries including France, Germany and Turkey have also been to Damascus.Syria’s defence ministry said Thursday that a high-level Turkish military delegation also visited the country.burs-lg/smw/it

Zakaria Zubeidi, a former leader of a Palestinian militant group jailed for attacks that killed several Israelis, 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.Zubeidi rose to prominence during the Second Intifada, a Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s, becoming one of the best-known militant 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 army raided the camp.He is known by Israeli security services as the man behind several deadly, high-profile attacks against Israelis.- Long years of militancy -Zubeidi became active with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’ Fatah party after a stint in prison in 1989 at age 14. Re-arrested in 1990 for throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli forces, he rose through the ranks and eventually became leader for 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 along with 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.-‘The Black Rat’-Forced into hiding due to his continued militancy, Zubeidi remained a fugitive until 2007, when he agreed to hand over his weapons to the Palestinian Authority.The deal, which was extended to all fugitives who chose to comply, saw Zubeidi’s name removed from Israel’s list of wanted individuals.But in 2011, Israel revoked Zubeidi’s amnesty for undisclosed reasons. He was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of involvement in multiple shooting attacks near the Israeli settlement of Beit El, near Ramallah.The militant has claimed to have survived several assassination attempts by Israel which has reportedly nicknamed him “The Black Rat” for his ability to evade the targeting.Among Palestinians, Zubeidi is 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.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 created in the early 1950s to host Palestinians who fled their homes at Israel’s creation.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 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 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.