RAMALLAH, July 5, 2026 (WAFA) – Former Palestinian prisoner Maher Abdul Latif Younis, one of the longest-serving Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons, died early Sunday at the age of 68.

Younis, regarded as one of the most prominent figures of the Palestinian prisoners' movement, spent four decades in Israeli custody. His funeral is scheduled to take place after the noon prayer in his hometown of Ar'ara.

He was released on January 19, 2023, after serving 40 consecutive years in prison, having been imprisoned at the age of 25.

Israeli authorities detained Younis on January 18, 1983, over his involvement in armed resistance against the Israeli occupation and his affiliation with the Fatah movement. He was detained shortly after his cousin, former prisoner Karim Younis, and alongside Sami Younis, who was released in the 2011 prisoner exchange and died four years after his release.

Following his detention, Younis underwent lengthy interrogation and was initially sentenced to death. The sentence was commuted a month later to life imprisonment and was later reduced in 2012 to a fixed term of 40 years.

During his imprisonment, Younis lost his father in 2008. His father had previously spent eight years in Israeli prisons.

Born on January 6, 1958, in the village of Ara in the 1948 territory, Younis completed his primary and secondary education in his hometown before attending an industrial school in Hadera. 

M.N