Hundreds March for Palestinians Held in Israeli Jails

Palestinians hold up pictures of loved ones in Israeli custody at a rally in the West Bank city of Nablus called to protest recent reports of abuse and even torture © Zain JAAFAR / AFP
Palestinians hold up pictures of loved ones in Israeli custody at a rally in the West Bank city of Nablus called to protest recent reports of abuse and even torture © Zain JAAFAR / AFP
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Hundreds March for Palestinians Held in Israeli Jails

Palestinians hold up pictures of loved ones in Israeli custody at a rally in the West Bank city of Nablus called to protest recent reports of abuse and even torture © Zain JAAFAR / AFP
Palestinians hold up pictures of loved ones in Israeli custody at a rally in the West Bank city of Nablus called to protest recent reports of abuse and even torture © Zain JAAFAR / AFP

Hundreds of Palestinians marched to protest the treatment of prisoners held in Israeli jails on Saturday, following reports of abuse and even torture.

Relatives held up pictures of prisoners and waved Palestinian flags during separate demonstrations in Ramallah and Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

"Even if the whole world submits, we will not recognise Israel," chanted the protesters in Ramallah.

Thousands of Palestinians have been detained in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October, the United Nations human rights office said this week.

They have mostly been held in secret and in some cases subjected to treatment that may amount to torture, the OHCHR said in a report.

"For 10 months, we haven't known anything about our sons," Latifa Abu Hamid, a mother of four prisoners, all sentenced to life, told AFP.

"We want to check on them and see them. We want to know their situation... We want our sons."

According to the Prisoners Club, a Palestinian watchdog, about 9,700 Palestinians are currently in Israeli jails, including hundreds under administrative detention.

The NGO estimates that arrests have doubled since October 7 compared to the same period last year.

The OHCHR report said that since the October 7 Hamas attacks, thousands of Palestinians -- including medics, patients, residents and captured fighters -- have been taken from Gaza to Israel, "usually shackled and blindfolded".

"They have generally been held in secret, without being given a reason for their detention, access to a lawyer or effective judicial review," this week's OHCHR report said.

Testimonies for the report suggested that Israel had subjected prisoners to "a range of appalling acts, such as waterboarding and the release of dogs on detainees", UN rights chief Volker Turk said.

The UN report was released the day after Israeli military police questioned soldiers arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee.

At the Ramallah demonstration, Umm Abdullah Hamed detailed how her brother, son and nephew had all been given multi-decade sentences.

"We feel like any family of a prisoner," Umm Abdullah Hamed, whose brother, son and nephew have all been sentenced to decades in prison, said at the Ramallah protest.

"We ask God Almighty to hasten their relief and freedom, God willing," she added.

 



Hamas Suspends Truce Talks Pending Appointment of New Political Leader

Khaled Meshaal (L) hugs Ismail Haniyeh before leaving the Gaza Strip. (Reuters file)
Khaled Meshaal (L) hugs Ismail Haniyeh before leaving the Gaza Strip. (Reuters file)
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Hamas Suspends Truce Talks Pending Appointment of New Political Leader

Khaled Meshaal (L) hugs Ismail Haniyeh before leaving the Gaza Strip. (Reuters file)
Khaled Meshaal (L) hugs Ismail Haniyeh before leaving the Gaza Strip. (Reuters file)

Sources in Hamas said that the Palestinian movement has temporarily frozen ceasefire talks in the Gaza Strip.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, the sources said that a decision was taken to suspend contacts until “choosing a successor to the head of the politburo, Ismail Haniyeh,” who was assassinated by Israel in Tehran on Wednesday.

The issue of Haniyeh’s successor is expected to be resolved within the next few days, the sources said.

According to the internal regulations of the Hamas movement, the deputy head of the political bureau replaces the president in the event of his absence, and if this is not possible, the head of the Shura Council becomes the caretaker until elections are held.

But the situation today is complicated, as Israel has assassinated, in separate operations, each of Haniyeh, his deputy, Saleh Al-Arouri, and the head of the Shura Council, Osama Al-Muzaini.

“In light of the current complex situation, the issue may be resolved within the framework of the Political Bureau,” the sources noted, suggesting that Khaled Meshaal, in his capacity as head of the movement abroad, could be chosen as head of the office or at least as director of its operation.

They added that Meshaal’s selection seems to be the most likely in light of the inability of the movement's head in Gaza, Yehya Sinwar, to assume any responsibilities at the present time.

An informed source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the appointment of a new politburo chief will lead to the immediate resumption of ceasefire negotiations, stressing that Hamas wanted to reach an agreement that will stop the war and bloodshed in Gaza.

The source confirmed that Haniyeh’s assassination “cast a shadow on the course of the talks, but will not disrupt them forever, because the movement does not deal with reactions, but rather with an open political mind and has a duty now to stop the war.”

Meanwhile, Israel dispatched to Cairo on Saturday a high-level delegation that included Mossad Director David Barnea and Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar to hold talks with head of Egyptian Intelligence Abbas Kamel over the hostage agreement and ceasefire in Gaza.

They will also discuss security arrangements along the border between Egypt and Gaza and the reopening of the Rafah crossing.

Israeli media confirmed that the delegation was sent after intense American pressure on Israel in recent days to continue negotiations and reach an agreement.