According to authorities in the Gaza Strip, Israel has released 150 detained Palestinians. “Since the early hours of the morning, 150 prisoners from different parts of the Gaza Strip held by the Israeli occupation have been released,” a spokesman for the border crossing authority told AFP on Monday. “It is very striking that some of these prisoners were severely ill-treated,” he continued.
Some of those released were taken to hospital, it said. During the more than six-month military offensive in the Gaza Strip following the attack on Israel by the radical Islamic group Hamas, Israeli soldiers have arrested hundreds of Palestinians and held them without charge. They were released in groups.
Signs of torture?
The latest group was brought back into the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom border crossing from Israel, according to the border crossing authority and an AFP journalist. Some of those released were treated in the hospital in the city of Rafah in the south of the Palestinian territory.
The Israeli military did not comment on the release, saying only that mistreatment of prisoners was “absolutely prohibited.” “Those who are not involved in terrorist activities will be released back to the Gaza Strip,” the army said in a statement.
Last month, the border crossing authority said 56 Palestinians released from Israeli prisons had shown signs of “torture” in captivity. At the time, the Israeli military said the prisoners would be treated “in accordance with international law.”
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) expressed concern last month about the situation of Palestinian prisoners in Israel. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said Gaza detainees were returning “completely traumatized” and reported a “wide range of abuses.”