Ramallah, Palestinian Territories - Hadi al-Fakhri was 26 the first time he hugged his father, one of thousands of Palestinians serving time in Israeli prisons for militant activity in the occupied West Bank.
A decade later, more than 30 years into a life sentence, Fakhri's father was freed when more than 1,000 prisoners were swapped for a single Israeli soldier held by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas for five years.
The landmark 2011 deal to free Gilad Shalit sparked hope for thousands being held in Israeli prisons.
But more than three years on, with the peace process in tatters and ties with Israel severely strained, Palestinian hopes of seeing their prisoners released look more remote than ever.
Almost every Palestinian family is touched by the prisoners issue.
"Every Palestinian family has experience of the occupation's prisons -- people have either been locked up themselves, or they have a family member who's been in jail at some point," said Nojood Qassem, 40, whose husband is serving life.
Her daughter, who is now 13, has grown up knowing her father only through the glass of a prison window.
"My daughter doesn't even know her father. She only sees him behind glass panes on prison visits, and talks to him via a telephone only then. It's maybe a couple of times a month," she told AFP.
Growing up with his father in prison was a tough experience for Fakhri too.
"When you're a child you want to play with your dad, you want his love, his physical presence, his hug.
"I only got that after 26 years and, instead of being normal, it was a bizarre feeling for me."
AFP
