Gaza, ALRAY - Amjad Abu Arqoub diligently moves between lecture rooms at the Islamic University in Gaza in an effort to compensate what he missed during detention in the Israeli prisons.

Amjad,32, regularly attends all lectures and interacts with his lecturers aspiring for obtaining a Bachelor degree. He has a double stimulus more than his colleagues who are younger by a decade.

He served 10 years in Israeli prisons before he was released in Shalit swap that was signed between the occupation and the Palestinian resistance in 2011.

Although only two years have passed since he was released, he looks forward to obtaining the university degree within three years.

Leaving a lecture room heading to another, Amjad said: “I don’t waste time since I was released to obtain the degree and compensate the years the Israeli prisons stole from me. I will continue my study and try to obtain a postgraduate degree after achieving the current one”

It is worth mentioning that Amjad was arrested while studying Chemistry at Hebron University in the West Bank. After being released and banished to Gaza, However, he chose to study Journalism and Media in order to serve the Palestinian issue, the prisoners’ issue in particular.

Several veteran prisoners have been joined universities to complete study after they were released.

Since 1967, when Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, more than 650,000 Palestinians have been detained by Israel. This represents approximately 20% of the total population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories , and 40% of all males.

Despite prohibition by international law, Israel detains Palestinians in prisons throughout Israel, far from their families, who almost never obtain the necessary permits to leave the Occupied Palestinian Territories to visit them.

There are an estimated 5220 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israel, of which 10 are members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).