Many Israelis are angry that Ahlam and 476 other Palestinians who were on the "other side" in this conflict, have gained their freedom. They resent being reminded that their own Israeli military forces are guilty of killing Palestinians.
Governments work hard to justify what their armies do, demonizing the enemy and convincing their civilians that the cause the army fights for is just. This does not, however, make it right.
The fact remains that a limited freedom has been granted to the 477 Palestinians. Ahlan, like her colleagues who have joined her in leaving prison, now looks to the future. What Ahlam wants to do now is to find a way to unite with her husband, Nezar, who was jailed in 1993 during his Birzeit University years.
Ahlam's dream now is to settle down after a huge wedding that reunites her with her husband. "All I dream about now is to live with Nezar, settling down and raising our future children."
Nezar was sentenced to life in prison for belonging to a Fatah cell in 1993, which Israel claimed was responsible for kidnapping and killing an Israeli in the Jewish community of Beit El near Ramallah.
This then is the personal story, the life in prison, and the courtship and marriage of Ahlam and Nezar, who now face an uncertain future.
Ahlam told The Media Line that her hope is that the couple will be reunited in Jordan, but if Nezar does not receive permission to enter Jordan, they will request permission to live in Gaza, hoping for the support of the Palestinian Authority, currently run by Nezar's party, Fatah, and Gaza's Hamas government.
Meanwhile, Ahlam is trying to adjust to the new developments in technology that emerged during the time she was in prison. She plans to communicate with her husband with the help of new technology.
"I was told that we can cam-chat with each other using motion picture and voice both at the same time, whatever that means," Ahlam adds with a laugh, "It certainly sounds like a cooler way to communicate than the mobile telephone."
Ahmed, who is also Nezar's cousin, was a third member of the Nabi Saleh Tamnimi family who was released in the prisoner exchange. Ahmed and Nezar were both charged in 1993 with the same "crime." Their story is told in the five-minute video below. The Youtube video was released by The Palestine Chronicle.
It covers two days in the village of Al-Nabi Saleh, one day before the prisoner release, and on the day two Tammimi family members are welcomed home.
Cross-posted from Wall Writings
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