Who is the Prisoner Leader Anas Jaradat?

Voice of the Prisoners Radio – December 16, 2024

Anas Jaradat was born on December 6, 1981, in the village of Silat al-Harithiya near Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank.

He was arrested on May 11, 2003, on charges of leading the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, and for bearing responsibility for the “Karkur” operation that killed 14 Israeli soldiers, as well as the “Megiddo” operation that killed 18 Israeli soldiers and wounded dozens more. He was also involved in planning the famous “Red Jeep” operation, which then-Israeli President Shimon Peres remarked would have changed the face of the region had it succeeded.

Anas Jaradat is considered the successor to the martyred leader Iyad Sawalha. Together they stood behind many martyrdom operations and their planning, which shook the depths of the Israeli entity, leaving scores of Israeli dead and injured. These operations aimed to undermine the “Defensive Shield” theory implemented by the occupation in 2002 to impose a new reality in the occupied West Bank and deter Palestinians.

He was sentenced to 35 life sentences plus an additional 35 years. He has already served 21 years and remains imprisoned in Nafha Prison.

While in captivity, he obtained his high school diploma and a bachelor’s degree in History. He currently serves as the “emir” (leader) of the Islamic Jihad Movement’s prisoners’ leadership committee in the prisons during the “Martyr Sheikh Khader Adnan” session (2023–2025).