In at least three cases, before the prisoners were released, Israeli police raided their families’ homes in Jerusalem, witnesses said, Reuters reports. Police declined to comment.
“There is no real joy, even this little joy we feel as we wait,” said Sawsan Bkeer, the mother of 24-year-old Palestinian prisoner Marah Bkeer, jailed for eight years on knife and assault charges in 2015.
Israeli police were seen raiding her Jerusalem home before her daughter was released.
“We are still afraid to feel happy and at the same time, we do not have it in us to be happy due to what is happening in Gaza,” she added.
A source briefed on the talks said the release of the Thai workers was unrelated to the truce talks and followed a separate track mediated by Egypt and Qatar. Thailand’s government said 20 of its nationals remained captive.
