Defense minister threatens released terrorist Zubeidi: ‘ One mistake and you’re going to meet old friends’ – Ynetnews

Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened released terrorist prisoner Zakaria Zubeidi, who was released on Thursday as part of the hostage deal, saying on Saturday evening that: “We will not accept support for terrorism. One mistake and you’re going to meet old friends.”

Zubeidi, a symbol of terrorism in Jenin who was formerly the commander of Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades in the Palestinian city in northern Samaria, was welcomed as a hero during celebrations in Ramallah on Thursday, making a V-shaped sign of victory and saying: “Thanks be to Allah who blessed me with liberation today. May God have mercy on the martyrs in Gaza.” When asked about reports that Israel would not allow him to return to the Jenin refugee camp, where he was born and raised and where the IDF’s major Operation Iron Wall is currently underway, he promised that he would eventually return.

“The dragon is the owner of the land and the hunter is an invader – and he must leave,” replied Zubeidi, referring to the nickname he was given in Jenin, and to Israel by “the hunter.” The origin of these nicknames is the thesis he prepared for his master’s degree at Birzeit University, titled “The Hunter and the Dragon: Being Wanted in the Palestinian Experience 1968-2018.” Zubeidi, as he defines it, embodies the character of “the dragon,” which originates from an ancient legend in which the dragon overcomes the hunter, after a long and difficult chase, referring to his personal experience with Israel.

In an interview with the Turkish news agency Anadolu, Zubeidi claimed that he suffered torture in prison. “I was beaten in Israeli prisons and remained handcuffed until the last day,” he alleged. “For three and a half years I was in solitary confinement under torture in Israeli prisons. Gaza returned me to my family and we must unite to rebuild it.”

In an interview with the British Sky News network on Saturday, Zubeidi said: “My life is worth nothing without freedom, and freedom has no price – but the world has ignored my freedom – especially Britain, France and the U.S. They must return what they took from me and my children. They are the ones who were wrong about us – and they need to think about repairing the pain they caused me and my children.”

Zubeidi, 49, began his career as a police officer in the Palestinian Authority, but became a terrorist whose main activity took place after Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, which brought about the end of the Second Intifada. He then became a very well-known figure in Israel, mainly due to his ties with Israeli left-wing activist Tali Fahima, who aided Palestinian terrorists, which attracted a lot of media attention. He is one of the senior terrorist operatives in the West Bank and is among the terrorists included in the “wanted persons agreement” that was formulated in 2007 after the intifada, at which time he ceased to be wanted.

Zubeidi was appointed as the representative of the Prisoners’ Office in the Jenin refugee camp, and later also served as a member of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council. In early 2019, he was arrested and imprisoned following several shooting attacks in the Beit El area. In 2021, he managed to escape from Gilboa prison, along with five other terrorists, and was only captured after a five-day extensive manhunt. Zubeidi had previously spent many years in an Israeli prison, for being the commander of Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades in Jenin.