Life Prisoner Montaser Shalabi: A Body Wasting Away Behind Bars

A prisoner walks alone on his path, supported only by his family, who stands behind him like a steadfast mountain he can lean on in times of need. They ease the harshness of his detention through visits and reassuring messages, conveying news of the family to keep hope alive within him.

The prisoner continues to endure the cruelty of incarceration with patience, with hope for freedom, and with absolute conviction in the path he chose in defence of his homeland’s dignity, reassured that he has left behind a patient, loving wife who stands beside him, carries on raising their children, and keeps the household alive and vibrant once more.

However, the majority of prisoners have been stripped of these rights following the declaration of a state of emergency in the prisons. No family visits remain to sustain their hope, and no news reaches them about the conditions of their loved ones or their homeland.

Despite the bitterness of detention and the suspension of family visits, the wife of life prisoner Montaser Ahmed Ali Shalabi (49 years old), a resident of the town of Turmus Ayya in the Ramallah district, has continued walking the path of patience. While her husband battles through his years of imprisonment, she battles through life, forging her way through work, effort, and perseverance. For four years, she has been deprived of her husband, now a life prisoner, and has lost her beautiful home that was demolished and reduced to rubble and dust.

The Prisoners’ Media Office continues to present the stories of life-sentence prisoners in the occupation’s prisons, shedding light on their conditions amid the complete absence of news, their deprivation of family visits, and the scarcity of attorney visits, all to ascertain their health status and document the starvation policy and multiple violations they are subjected to, as the state of emergency declared by the occupation following the war of 7 October remains in effect.

The story of prisoner Montaser Shalabi began on 1 May 2021, when he resolved to take the path of reclaiming his homeland’s dignity. He proceeded to the Zatara checkpoint, south of Nablus city, which serves as a junction between Ramallah and Nablus and is known for its stringent military measures and the difficulty of carrying out operations there.

Nevertheless, prisoner Montaser Shalabi managed to bypass this military point and carried out a shooting operation at the location.

The operation resulted in the death of one settler and the injury of two others. Occupation forces opened fire toward prisoner Shalabi, who succeeded in leaving the scene in his vehicle after exhausting his pistol’s ammunition, thus beginning the pursuit.

Prisoner Montaser Shalabi remained in hiding for approximately four days, moving between multiple locations. He succeeded in exhausting the occupation forces, who conducted an extensive search for him before eventually arresting him in the town of Silwad in the Ramallah district.

During that period, his family was subjected to numerous violations, most notably the storming of their home, the interrogation of family members, and the arrest of one of his sons, in addition to threats to demolish the house, which was later carried out.

The family owned a large home in the quiet town of Turmus Ayya, known for its elegant residences. Seven children and beautiful memories, they lacked nothing in life. Yet prisoner Montaser Shalabi was raised on principles of dignity and sacrifice for the homeland.

On 8 July 2021, the occupation demolished the family home after rigging it with explosives and detonating it twice to ensure its complete destruction. 

After long months of interrogation and court postponements, the Ofer Military Court issued its verdict on 5 January 2022, sentencing prisoner Montaser Shalabi to two consecutive life terms and imposing a fine of one and a half million shekels.

The sentence remains in effect to this day, with his name not included in the “Flood of the Free” exchange deal. He remains confined under the life sentence, one of 17 prisoners from the Ramallah governorate serving life sentences in the occupation’s prisons.

The family of prisoner Montaser Shalabi has confirmed that his morale at Nafha Prison remains strong, and that he is patient, resisting each day of his imprisonment. His weight has dropped to 65 kilograms, down from 165 kilograms at the time of his arrest, as a result of the harsh detention conditions and the starvation policy.

The family notes that he spends the majority of his time reading the Quran, exercising patience, and awaiting freedom.