In Israel, the liberation of prisoners from Gaza was celebrated, each welcoming scenes of joy on the country’s streets.
Meanwhile, the Palestinians were told that prisoners released by Israel were not allowed to do such a thing. In fact, attempts to welcome prisoners into their homes were expressly prohibited by Israel.
In an incident that underscored tensions, Israeli forces began retaliation operations one day after the release of Ashraf Zugaea, a 46-year-old Palestinian who was jailed from the age of 23 and was sentenced to six life sentences.
When neighbors and family members openly celebrated Zghair’s release on Saturday, January 25th, authorities arrested his brother Amir, the father of four.
Mounir Zghair, the official spokesman for the Jerusalem POW Association and Ashraf’s father, condemned the arrest in an interview.
“There is no legal basis for my son’s arrest,” he said. “We were not officially informed of what rules were violating.”
The incident represents a broader pattern of restrictions imposed on Palestinian prisoners and their families. One family member spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation revealed the extent of these restrictions
“We are not permitted to host reception parties or distribute sweets,” the family told Al Jazeera. “Released detainees are also prohibited from speaking to any form of media under the threat of re-indictment, which is the way of their occupation, even after the release of prisoner freedom.”
Israel organizes the release of Palestinian prisoners as a necessary evil and is mediated through agreements with “terrorist organizations.” Therefore, we consider the celebration of the release to be a support for “terrorism.”
“There are many consequences of celebrating, including the arrest of the family of released prisoners, as in the case of released brothers, as in the case of released brothers. The lawyer working on it. Hamas flag is green, but many other flags representing Palestinian groups and Islamic causes are also green.
The state of the prisoner
The future of the ceasefire is currently uncertain. Hamas said Monday that it will suspend the release of prisoners of war on Saturday for breach of Israeli contract. Israel responded by threatening to resume bombing Gaza if prisoners were not released.
Much of the focus in the days before Hamas’ announcement was on the presence of three Israeli prisoners of war released from Gaza on Saturday, and everything appears to be in debilitating. However, there was little focus on many Palestinian prisoners who emerged from Israeli prisons in similar states. Many of them are taken to hospitals.
One Palestinian who was released in late January was 18-year-old Adam Al Hadra, who was detained from the West Bank, occupied in November 2023.
“When I found out I was part of the contract, I came back to life. It was an indescribable feeling. What hurts me the most is the humiliation, hunger and illness that I suffered in professional prisons. It was about being away from my family,” he told Al Jazeera.
However, al-Hadra’s freedom had immediate restrictions. Within days of his release he was banned from entering the old city of Jerusalem. “Occupation is another way that imposes that authority on the Palestinians,” he pointed out. Al Hadra’s lawyers told Al Jazeera that Israeli authorities had not given him any reason for restrictions.
Possibility of arrest
Many Palestinians arrested were responsible for being re-arrested by Israel, and many who were involved in previous exchanges.
Legal expert Nadia Dhaka highlighted important concerns about the release process.
“The prisoners were released without providing legal documents explaining the framework for their release,” she explained. “This raises a big question because Israeli law allows the government to re-arrest prisoners as soon as political or security interests are over.”
This will keep prisoners in “legal scope” and Daqqa highlights, and the lack of documentation could limit the ability of lawyers to protect and defend in the event of a re-arrest. He added that there is.
Al Hadra was sentenced to three years in prison, but thousands of Palestinians have also been detained by Israel in what is called “administrative detention.” This is the process by which Israel retains detainees without prosecution. Previously, a much smaller number of Israelis were also held in administrative detention, but the Israeli government has now openly stated that it only applies to Palestinians.
Among those released in late January, another 18-year-old Qassem Jaafra was among those held in administrative detention.
“It was only said 30 minutes before release,” he said. “My family, friends and school were missing, but leaving my close friends behind in prison is also painful.”
More than 3,300 Palestinians are currently in administrative detention, according to Israeli human rights group B’tselem.
An Euro Med Human Rights Monitor report released earlier this month provided harsh criticism of the detention system.
Israeli prisons and detention centres concluded that “construct a systematic framework aimed at torture and abuse Palestinian prisoners and detainees, and depriving them of their most fundamental human rights.” Ta.
The report further argued that systemic abuse of Palestinians is made possible by the long history of immunity Israel enjoys from the US and European governments, representing a serious violation of international detention standards. .
But despite the overwhelming challenges, hope continues.
As Al Hadra concludes, “after the hardships have become easier.”
This article was published in collaboration with EGAB.
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