BETHLEHEM, West Bank — As dawn broke over Bethlehem, Mohamad Al-Assi’s footsteps echoed along the concrete barrier separating Israel from the occupied West Bank. The 27-year-old Palestinian runner was participating in Friday’s Palestine Marathon, the first time the event had been held in three years.
The marathon represented a personal milestone for Al-Assi, who was freed from Israeli custody just six months earlier. Footage from his release shows a dramatically different man — thin and weak-looking, his athletic build diminished after spending more than two and a half years behind bars.
Since beginning his comeback training in December, Al-Assi has steadily increased his running distance each month. His fitness tracking app shows he covered 62 miles in that initial month, building up to 135 miles by April.
Training hasn’t been easy in his home at Dheisheh, a Palestinian refugee camp filled with cinderblock houses and narrow streets. His mother wakes him each morning for his runs through the challenging terrain.
“The main difficulties we face are the cars on the roads and the presence of Israeli security forces along the route where I train,” Al-Assi explained.
Military operations in the camp forced him to halt his preparation multiple times.
“I would return home feeling hopeless because I couldn’t do what I had intended to do,” Al-Assi said.
The unique geography of the West Bank means marathon runners cannot complete a full 26.2-mile course without encountering checkpoints or military barriers. Friday’s route addressed this by having participants complete the same circuit twice.
The course wound through narrow streets of two Palestinian refugee camps before descending to agricultural areas near Bethlehem, where farmland is divided by concrete walls, razor wire, and surveillance equipment. Runners concluded at Bethlehem’s historic Manger Square.
Race organizers emphasize how the event illustrates the movement restrictions Palestinians face in the occupied territory, where security checkpoints can interrupt daily travel and where Israeli settlements increasingly limit access to open spaces for recreation.
“Marathon runners anywhere may ‘hit a wall’ under the physical and emotional strain of completing the 42-kilometer race course,” organizers noted on their website.
However, in the West Bank, they noted, “runners literally hit the Wall.”
Despite economic hardships in the West Bank and ongoing tensions following Gaza’s fragile ceasefire, Bethlehem embraced a festive atmosphere. Spectators gathered near the Church of the Nativity to support runners at both the early morning start and finish. Traditional music filled the streets as bagpipers and drummers provided encouragement along the route.
Meanwhile, in Gaza’s Nuseirat area, a separate event took place along a beachside stretch roughly equivalent to marathon distance. Fifteen disabled participants, including amputees, completed a 2K race, while thousands more ran a 5K distance. The inclusion of women marked a significant change from 2013, when the UN refugee agency canceled a similar event because Hamas had prohibited female participation.
Haya Alnaji, a 22-year-old who participated in Gaza’s 5K race, viewed the turnout as evidence of Palestinian resilience after more than two years of conflict devastation.
“All of Gaza loves sports,” she stated.
Al-Assi’s imprisonment began in April 2023 under administrative detention, a system allowing Israel to hold individuals for extended periods without formal charges. Israeli human rights organizations and the Palestinian Prisoners Society report that 3,000 to 4,000 Palestinians currently remain under this system.
By October 2023, Al-Assi received a sentence for allegedly transferring funds to suspicious organizations, charges he disputes. Israel maintains strict oversight of financial transfers, particularly those involving Gaza, due to concerns about money reaching militant groups. Palestinians argue that legitimate donations and charitable contributions often get caught in these investigations. Israeli military, intelligence, and prison officials declined to comment on Al-Assi’s specific case.
During his incarceration, Al-Assi said widespread hunger affected nearly all detainees due to insufficient food provisions. The weight loss destroyed the endurance he had developed through a decade of athletic training.
“I have more muscle mass than fat, so when I lost weight, the loss came from my muscles rather than fat,” he explained. “This had a major impact on my physical fitness.”
Beyond physical recovery, he also needed to rebuild his mental strength for marathon competition.
“I was emotionally shattered after spending such a long period in prison,” he said.
After crossing Friday’s finish line in second place overall, Al-Assi dropped to his knees in gratitude as supporters and media surrounded him. He dedicated his performance to Palestinians still held in Israeli facilities.
“After 32 months in prison, Mohamad Al-Assi is first in his class!” he declared through tears, raising his arms skyward.
