Ramallah, occupied West Bank – The morning dawned full of anticipation as thousands of Palestinian families prepared to welcome their imprisoned relatives, who were scheduled to be released as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Israel.

Some had spent decades in prison, some were serving consecutive life sentences, and most had been rounded up wholesale by Israel in Gaza during its two-year war on the besieged enclave.

The Ramallah Cultural Centre was where the families of political prisoners being released to the West Bank gathered on Monday, and tears, embraces, and anticipation were everywhere.

But the tears flowing down one woman’s face seemed different as she leaned against her brother, weeping bitterly.

They were shocked and saddened by the news they had just gotten about thei

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