Ahmed Abed—using a pseudonym to avoid further arrest—still feels the weight of imprisonment, despite being released from an Israeli jail to the occupied West Bank nearly two years ago.
While technically a free man, the 43-year-old Abed is frequently rearrested by Israeli forces or summoned for intelligence interrogations.
Hundreds of other Palestinians in the occupied West Bank endure similar cycles of instability. Their homes are often raided multiple times a week, leading to abrupt detentions, assaults, and on-the-spot interrogations before they are eventually released.
Organizations dedicated to prisoner affairs report that dozens of Palestinians across the West Bank are arrested daily during large-scale operations that disproportionately target former detainees. Most are released after hours of questioning, a pattern that observers describe as a calculated campaign of intimidation by Israel.
A Pattern of Persistent Detention
Abed was released in January 2025 as part of a prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel, after serving 22 years of a life sentence. Since then, his life has been defined by persistent military harassment.
Days after his release, Israeli intelligence summoned him for questioning. Officials explicitly stated their dissatisfaction with the political decision to include him in the exchange and warned that any “slightest mistake” would result in his rearrest.
Since regaining his freedom, Abed has been arrested six times and summoned for interrogation five times. Each instance involved raids on his home and the intimidation of his family. In one occasion, his father was arrested simply because Abed was seen outside the house at night.
“Whenever there are reports of Israeli military activity in the city, my family goes into a state of high alert; no one sleeps all night,” Abed told Al Jazeera. “Some neighbours even leave their homes, fearing they might be raided as part of the collective intimidation campaign imposed because of me.”
During his arrests, Abed is often blindfolded, handcuffed, and forced to walk several kilometers under military guard. He describes detention centers characterized by dire conditions, where he has been deprived of food and water and subjected to verbal and physical abuse.
“Every time, they threaten to send me back to prison to the point where I feel as though two-thirds of my body are still in captivity,” he said. “The underlying message is always the same: I am not permitted to live a normal life.”
To protect his loved ones, Abed avoids family gatherings and limits his social circle. He was even warned by an Israeli officer that praying at a mosque would lead to his immediate arrest.
Despite earning a bachelor’s degree and a doctorate while imprisoned, Abed cannot find stable employment. Employers typically refuse to hire him once they learn of his repeated detentions, forcing him to rely on inconsistent day-labor to survive.
The Economic Toll of Instability
Another former prisoner from Qalqilya reports being arrested an average of twice a week during military sweeps. He was recently warned that stepping onto a football pitch would result in arrest, jeopardizing his livelihood as a referee.
Abdullah, another resident who requested anonymity, stated that since his initial release in 2000, he has been rearrested so frequently that he has lost count, though he estimates he has spent a total of 17 additional years in custody.
Between November 2023 and February 2025, Abdullah was held under “administrative detention,” during which he says he suffered physical and psychological torture, resulting in a weight loss of 60kg (132 pounds).
The instability cost him his job, as his employer could no longer tolerate his frequent absences. He attempted to farm inherited land, but the constant threat of raids has made it impossible to maintain the crops.
“I often fall behind in irrigating, applying pesticides, or tilling the soil,” he explained. “It has left me with more losses than profits.”
‘The Normalisation of Fear’
Since October 2023, the occupied West Bank has seen a surge in Israeli arrest campaigns. Military incursions into towns, refugee camps, and private homes—alongside arrests at checkpoints—have become commonplace.
Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups have documented approximately 26,000 arrests in the West Bank and East Jerusalem between October 2023 and early October 2026. This figure includes over 800 women and nearly 2,000 minors.
Amani Sarahneh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, told Al Jazeera that these operations have evolved into a round-the-clock cycle, with an average of 10 to 15 Palestinians remaining in custody every day.
“The persistence of these campaigns has led to a ‘normalisation of fear’ among the citizens,” Sarahneh said. “This has significantly impacted social relations, particularly in villages where residents live in constant anxiety.”
These operations often involve the ransacking of homes and the use of family members as leverage to exert pressure on the targets.
“The impact extends beyond the detainees,” Sarahneh added. “It deepens a sense of apprehension among the general public, who now worry that these arrests could reach any segment of the population.”