海角大神

Seven months after Palestinian prisoner Khaled Asakreh鈥檚 welcome-home luncheon, when a steady stream of everyone from relatives to Palestinian Authority officials stopped by to heartily congratulate him, life is quieter.

When visitors arrive on a recent evening, he is alone 鈥� a rarity for any Palestinian 鈥� in his gleaming new home, courtesy of the Palestinian Authority's strong financial support for prisoners. He has two TVs and four rooms of brand-new furniture all to himself, accompanied only by half a dozen plaques commemorating the 22 years he spent in prison. Yasser Arafat, the late Palestinian fighter turned peacemaker, gazes out from one in the dining room.

But soon there will be another addition: a wife. His fianc茅e, recommended by sisters-in-law after Mr. Asakreh tired of women chasing his perceived wealth, is everything he wanted: educated, mature, 鈥渁nd of course cute.鈥�

鈥淪ince I was engaged, my feelings, my life 鈥� everything changed,鈥� he says, looking noticeably more radiant than when the Monitor interviewed him upon his release in August.

Asakreh is one of 104 Palestinian prisoners whom Israel agreed to release in four batches as a confidence-building measure, which US Secretary of State John Kerry hoped would lead to direct peace talks between the two sides by the end of this month. Nearly all of the prisoners were arrested before the 1993 Oslo peace accords for involvement in fatal terrorist attacks, making the government鈥檚 decision to release them highly controversial.

Now Washington鈥檚 nine-month deadline for relaunching bilateral peace talks is looming, and the release of the fourth batch of prisoners is one of the major sticking points. Israel wants a guarantee that progress toward peace talks will continue beyond the end of April before it releases the final 26 prisoners, a move the PA has called 鈥渂lackmail.鈥� The PA is threatening to bail on peace negotiations if the prisoners, who were due to be released March 29, are not set free by tomorrow.

Meanwhile, 78 prisoners, including Asakreh, are rebuilding their lives after decades in prison. They have significant help 鈥� the PA pays all prisoners a handsome monthly stipend while in prison, which continues at a higher rate after their release, and provides some dental and health care benefits. They also enjoy celebrity status in their communities.聽

But they are still unable to travel freely:聽Asakreh is limited to the Bethlehem area for the first year of his freedom, and it will be 10 years before he can travel abroad.

When Israeli army jeeps come through the village targeting kids throwing rocks, he steers clear.

鈥淚n prison I felt safe because I鈥檓 in their hands,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut now anyone can come and harass me or arrest me.鈥�

After decades of sleeping in a prison bed so narrow that he would fall out if he rolled over, he sleeps on just a sliver of his huge new bed. And he says he and fellow prisoners find it hard at times to relate to others.

鈥淲e knew each other more than families 鈥� we spent our lives together,鈥� he says. 鈥淔rom one word we understand each other, so it is difficult to cope with people outside.鈥�

One such word is聽zifta聽鈥� tar. In prison, they didn鈥檛 have an opportunity to walk on paved roads, and it鈥檚 something that still holds excitement for them now.

But even the clip-clop of shoes on asphalt, a sound of freedom, began to lose its ring for Asakreh this winter, as he became bored with walking the streets of Bethlehem. As the first prisoner from the area to be released by Israel in the past year, many people recognized him,聽but he didn鈥檛 know any of them. Editor's note: This sentence has been revised to correctly reflect Asakreh's status.

He was hoping to marry 鈥� and had the bank account to do so,聽unlike many Palestinian men in the area, who struggle to provide the house, furniture, and dowry that most women鈥檚 families expect. But as he met girl after girl, he became disillusioned.

鈥淎ll the women and their families think I鈥檓 a rich man and I have a bucket of money,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 commercial more than love or real life. I couldn鈥檛 agree with this. I tried to find a woman who would support me.鈥�

Now he and his fianc茅e are planning their future. He鈥檚 hoping for just two children, and is relatively optimistic about their future.

At the university in nearby Beit Jala where he and a few other prisoners are taking computer classes, Asakreh tries to tell the students 鈥撀爉ost of whom were born after he was convicted in 1991 for murdering French tourist Annie Ley in Bethlehem 鈥� that there is an alternative to violence.

While the students all show the prisoners respect, not all listen to his ideas.

Ultimately, he says, it鈥檚 up to the Israelis to change their mentality 鈥� though many Israelis say the same about the Palestinians.

鈥淸PA President Mahmoud Abbas] is a good leader. There鈥檚 no other leader that can give peace like Abu Mazen,鈥� he says, referring to the president by his nickname. Otherwise, he says, trotting out some of the Hebrew he learned in prison, chaos may ensue. 鈥淏ecause of that the Israeli side needs to understand very well that if Mahmoud Abbas goes, there will be a big聽balagan.鈥澛�