He spent 4 decades in the prisons of the occupation, and his father died on the anniversary of his arrest, and his mother, months before his liberation.. Karim Younis, the dean of the Palestinian prisoners

Karim Younis is a Palestinian prisoner who lived 35 years in a world of oppression in Israeli prisons.

Karim was a revolutionary with a prominent name in the Palestinian national struggle and the history of the captive national movement, and was well known to the prisoners and liberators. Activists and observers of the issues of prisoners and detainees also reported his struggle.

Birth and upbringing

Karim Younes Fadl Younis, known as the dean of the Palestinian prisoners, was born on December 24, 1956, in the village of Ara, located in the northern triangle in the Palestinian interior.

His father, Younis Fadl Younis, died on January 6, 2007, on the 30th anniversary of the Karim family, which doubled the family's grief and pain of memory.

Karim's last meeting with his father was two years before his death due to an illness that afflicted him, and the occupation did not allow him to participate in his father's funeral, and his mother, Subhiya Wahbi Younis, died months before his release, after nearly 40 years of waiting.

His mother was counting the days waiting for his freedom, as she was constantly appearing on the media to talk about him and demand his release, and recounted her long waiting journey, as she lived 39 years and 4 months, moving between the occupation prisons, hoping to see her eldest son.

During these years, Haja Subhiya embraced her son only once, when she was accompanied by her husband Younis on Karim's visit, when he allowed the prisoners to take pictures with their families.

Scientific study and training

Karim Yunus studied elementary and preparatory school in the town of Ara, and studied high school at the Salesian School in Nazareth, and during his bachelor's studies at Ben-Gurion University in the Negev, he was arrested by the Israeli occupation forces.

He continued his educational journey inside the Israeli prisons, so he joined the Open University of Abu Dis, and finished his master's degree in political science and international relations.

With his academic ability, his knowledge of the Hebrew language, and his knowledge of Zionist thought, Karim Yunus was able to delve into theorizing and establish an intellectual system on his part, and he enjoyed the qualities of an objective researcher.

Younes was able to withstand the media contexts and emotional tendencies during his research in refuting the Zionist thought, and criticizing the traditional Palestinian political thought.

All of Karim's youth colleagues, and his fellow liberated prisoners who spent years with him in prison, testify that he was "a diligent and educated student, with a bold, militant and courageous personality. The prisoners were also characterized by patience and steadfastness.

The story of the arrest

On January 6, 1983, the occupation forces arrested Karim Younes, who was studying at Ben-Gurion University, when he was 23 years old at the time. They raided his family's home in the village of Ara to search for him the night before his arrest.

At first, his family did not know his place of detention, and they searched for him for months in the occupation prisons, until the lawyer was able to find him in Ashkelon prison, and Karim Younes was transferred to all Israeli prisons.

His arrest was on several charges. He was accused of belonging to the then-banned Fatah movement, engaging in armed resistance, and killing an Israeli soldier. He was sentenced to death by hanging, then the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, and in 2015 the occupation authorities set life imprisonment for 40 years.

With this ruling, Karim Younis will be the oldest political prisoner in Palestine and the world, and he was not included in the prisoner exchange deals, and the occupation authorities refused several times to release him, under the pretext that he is an Israeli citizen, which the occupation considers an internal Israeli matter.

He was supposed to be released under an agreement signed in July 2013 between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli occupation, which requires the release of all old prisoners detained before the Oslo agreement, but the occupation authorities backtracked after releasing the fourth batch, which included 30 prisoners, including 14 prisoners from the Palestinian interior.

Karim Yunus rejected any extortion, and opposed all forms of discrimination, separation, and bargaining between prisoners from inside or Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem. He was one of the most prominent symbols of the captive movement, which was formed within the Green Line after 1967, and had a major role in the project of struggle and the national movement.

Karim was at the head of the supporters of the Palestinian prisoners who entered into an open hunger strike, and the Israeli authorities isolated him, along with the leader Marwan Barghouti, in Chalabi prison, south of Haifa, with the aim of breaking the will of the prisoners.

During his arrest, his siblings got married and had children he did not recognize, and his father died 24 years after his arrest, and his mother's biggest fear was realized. She was not afraid of death in itself, but was afraid that she would die before living with her free son.

Karim Younis spent 40 years of struggle for the freedom of Palestine and the dignity of its people, and he was not looking for his personal salvation as much as he was waiting for the freedom of the Palestinian people from the yoke of occupation, and despite being subjected to punishment, isolation and exile from one prison to another, he did not hesitate to participate in managing the conflict in defense of the movement The captive and her gains, and the years of detention did not affect him and did not affect his morale and principles.

And he always refused to use political pressure on the Palestinian leadership, at the expense of the basic, inalienable and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, and thus became an icon of patience and resistance, and an inspiring role model for many prisoners in his determination and experience.

literature

Karim Younes published two books from inside prison:

• The Political Reality in Israel (1990), in which he dealt with all Israeli political parties.

• Ideological Conflict and Settlement (1993).

release

Karim Younes was released on January 5, 2023, at the age of 65, after spending 4 decades in Israeli occupation prisons.

Karim Younis's family waited for this day impatiently, as his brothers built him a house in the Al-Masqa neighborhood in the village of Ara. His late mother had always dreamed of marrying him, and they also collected for him the belongings of his mother and father, who died before seeing him free.