The eldest serving Palestinian freedom fighter Fouad Shobaki was released from prison after serving 17 years behind Israeli Occupation bars, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.

The 83-year-old, whose name was linked to the Karen A ship hijacked by Israeli Occupation units in the Red Sea on Jan. 3, 2002, was born on March 12, 1940, in Gaza.

He is considered the eldest of more than 4,500 Palestinian freedom fighters currently in Israeli Occupation prisons for their resistance to its occupation.

Shobaki is a member of Fatah and a major general in the Palestinian security forces and was responsible for the central military financial administration in the Palestinian security services.

On Jan. 3, 2002, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) carried out a military operation called Operation Noah's Ark with the aim of commandeering the Karen A ship in the Red Sea.

It claimed that the ship was carrying military equipment for Palestinians and was considered the "mastermind in financing and smuggling the arms ship.

Shobaki was detained by the IOF on March 14, 2006 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, which were later reduced to 17 years after he was found guilty by an Israeli Occupation military court of attempting to smuggle arms into Palestinian territories.

He suffers from many health problems, in his eyes, stomach, heart and high blood pressure.

Shobaki's wife died in 2011 and he was not allowed to say goodbye to her.

He has six children and nine grandchildren, most of whom he never met.