Perhaps the most well-known name on the list of 39 Palestinian prisoners and detainees released from an Israeli jail early on Sunday was Israa Jaabees, who was accused of attempted murder by Israel and had been in jail since 2015.

She was arrested that year after her car exploded at a checkpoint near Jerusalem in the West Bank, leaving her disfigured and an Israeli police officer seriously injured.

She claimed that it was an accidental fire, according to an account from Addameer,
a prisoners’ rights organisation. The Israeli authorities said it had been an act of terrorism.

Her story was featured in the documentary Advocate about the Israeli lawyer who represented her, Lea Tsemel, that was released in 2019 and was shortlisted for an Academy Award. Tsemel floated the idea that Israa might have been depressed and trying to commit what’s known as “suicide by cop”, according to write-ups of the film.

Talal Jaabees, 53, an uncle of Israa, 39, said in a phone interview late Saturday that Israeli forces had surrounded the home in East Jerusalem where his extended family had gathered to meet her. He said the Israeli authorities had been questioning a brother of Israa for hours and were refusing to hand her over in the presence of her extended family.

The authorities insisted that only her parents be present, he said.

“We are now busy with the army,” he said. “They want us away from the area.”

Jaabees said the family was grateful that Israa was freed, but sorrowful that the deal was reached after thousands of Gazans had been killed and injured.

“Their release is through bloodshed,” he said. “The feelings are mixed: It’s a great joy that our daughter will be with us after eight years and the circumstances she experienced, but there is pain and sadness from the oppression we are under.”