Freed prisoner Zakaria Zubeidi a 'murderous extremist' to Israel but an inspiration to Palestinians

This third round of prisoner releases has been awash with images that feel loaded with symbolism and significance.

We will remember Arbel Yehoud, frightened as she fought her way through a crowd in Khan Younis, or Agam Berger paraded in a fake IDF uniform and fitted with a bracelet in the colours of the Palestinian flag. Five Thai hostages, suddenly seen by the world.

But for those on the West Bank, waiting for prisoners to be released and returned, there is a very different image that was celebrated.

A man inside a coach, dressed in a prison-issue tracksuit, giving a victory sign while those outside cheer him vociferously.

That man is Zakaria Zubeidi, a man who generates extraordinarily varied responses.

In the minds of Israelis, Zubeidi is a murderous extremist with blood on his hands. To Palestinians, he is an inspiration, seen as a blend of resistance, leadership, and cultural pride.

Zubeidi, born in the refugee camp in Jenin, grew up attending a theatre group in the camp that was supposed to promote understanding between Palestinians and Israelis, a cause fervently backed by his mother.

He was shot in the leg by an Israeli soldier when he was 13 and was then jailed for the first time the following year after throwing stones at troops. He became the jail's spokesperson for all the child inmates.

What followed were years of transient jobs, time in jail, and petty crime. But then in 2002, Zubeidi's life was transformed.

His mother and brother were both killed by Israeli troops and, not long after, the camp was partly demolished, sparking fighting that killed dozens.

He later said he was furious that none of the Israeli families who had attended his mother's theatre group got in touch to express sympathy.

"We opened our homes to you, we gave you everything but what did we get in return," he said in an interview. "A bullet in my mother's chest."

He joined the armed wing of Fatah and was blamed by Israel for planning the 2002 Beit She'an attack on a polling station that killed six civilians and injured more than 30 others.

He was linked to more crimes just as his influence and control, especially in Jenin, grew.

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Israel named him as one of its most wanted people and, so it is claimed, tried and failed to kill him four times. Among Palestinians, his reputation soared as he defied the IDF.

But then, apparently browbeaten, he changed tack, claiming it was impossible to defeat Israel, and decided to stop fighting in exchange for a pardon, which was later rescinded.

Finally, in 2019, he was convicted by an Israeli military court of terrorism and imprisoned.

Two years later, extraordinarily, he and five other prisoners escaped after digging a tunnel using kitchen utensils.

Ever since, his name has been linked to people holding aloft a spoon - an unlikely symbol of Palestinian resistance.

And now he is free. Zubeidi has been told he is banned from going back to Jenin, but he will be welcomed across the West Bank.

There, he is revered; in Israel, he is reviled.

A perfect symbol of how this ceasefire can blend joy and despair in a single moment.

(c) Sky News 2025: Freed prisoner Zakaria Zubeidi a 'murderous extremist' to Israel but an inspiration to Pales