31 dec 2016
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Hamas' military wing the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades published two videos on Saturday sarcastically celebrating the 23rd birthday of Israeli soldier Oron Shaul, who disappeared during the Israeli military offensive against the Gaza Strip in 2014.
Oron Shaul, along with Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin, were pronounced dead by Israel during the war, though Hamas has claimed to be holding their bodies, which Hamas seeks to use as political leverage to coordinate the release of Palestinian political prisoners held in Israel. Hamas has never explicitly said whether the two Israeli soliders are alive or dead. The first video shows a cake sitting on a table that reads in Hebrew: “Oron, three years in Hamas captivity.” Then, the phrase: "a new year comes while Shaul is away from home," appears on the screen in both in Arabic and Hebrew. The second video shows the face of Shaul digitally imposed over an actor, bound to a chair with a birthday cake set on a table in front of him, adorned with three candles symbolizing the soldier’s time in alleged captivity. As the soldier tries free himself from the ropes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, dressed as a clown, steps into the room through a darkened door and blows out the candles. |
The video ends with the phrase: "the decision is in the hands of the Israeli government."
In 2006, Gaza militants captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and held him for five years before freeing him in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Many have since been rearrested in violation of the agreement, and the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades has demanded their release before starting talks in a new prisoner swap deal.
Israeli news site Arutz Sheva reported Sunday morning that the Foreign Affairs and Security Cabinet of Israel's parliament, the Knesset, scheduled a meeting for later in the day on possibilities for exerting pressure on Hamas to release of the bodies of soldiers Goldin and Shaul.
In 2006, Gaza militants captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and held him for five years before freeing him in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Many have since been rearrested in violation of the agreement, and the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades has demanded their release before starting talks in a new prisoner swap deal.
Israeli news site Arutz Sheva reported Sunday morning that the Foreign Affairs and Security Cabinet of Israel's parliament, the Knesset, scheduled a meeting for later in the day on possibilities for exerting pressure on Hamas to release of the bodies of soldiers Goldin and Shaul.
The Israeli government’s exposure to escalating pressure by the families of missing soldiers in Gaza is believed to be one of the prominent reasons behind its decision to convene a meeting for its security cabinet on Sunday to discuss this issue, according to political analyst Saleh al-Na’ami.
In press remarks to the Palestinian Information Center (PIC), Na’ami said that the families of Israeli missing soldiers in Gaza seemed to have managed to pressure their government to take steps regarding the issue of their sons.
He expressed his belief that the Israeli officials would study during their security cabinet meeting the Turkish overture to be a mediator between Israel and the captors in Gaza.
The analyst ruled out that the security cabinet would consider taking any military action against Gaza to restore its missing citizens.
Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, had disclosed several months ago photos of four Israelis it described as captive soldiers in Gaza. Two of those soldiers were officers captured during the 2014 war.
In press remarks to the Palestinian Information Center (PIC), Na’ami said that the families of Israeli missing soldiers in Gaza seemed to have managed to pressure their government to take steps regarding the issue of their sons.
He expressed his belief that the Israeli officials would study during their security cabinet meeting the Turkish overture to be a mediator between Israel and the captors in Gaza.
The analyst ruled out that the security cabinet would consider taking any military action against Gaza to restore its missing citizens.
Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, had disclosed several months ago photos of four Israelis it described as captive soldiers in Gaza. Two of those soldiers were officers captured during the 2014 war.
30 dec 2016
The Israeli security cabinet intends on Sunday to convene to discuss, for the first time in two years, the issue of Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip and ways to bring them back.
According to Israel’s channel 2, the crisis of confidence between families of missing Israeli soldiers and Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu was the reason behind the decision to hold this security cabinet meeting.
The channel pointed out that the crisis heated up after the Israeli government signed a reconciliation agreement with Turkey not including any reference to the issue of missing soldiers in Gaza.
The mother of missing soldier Oron Shaul accused Netanyahu in recent press remarks of forgetting and neglecting the issue of her son.
The channel expected that the security cabinet would take new measures to pressure Hamas to disclose information on the missing soldiers, including tightening the incarceration conditions of its prisoners in Israeli prisons and rejailing more ex-detainees who were released as part of the 2011 swap deal.
Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, had revealed in early April 2016 that it had four Israeli captives, including two soldiers captured during the 2014 war, without providing clear information if they were alive or dead.
According to Israel’s channel 2, the crisis of confidence between families of missing Israeli soldiers and Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu was the reason behind the decision to hold this security cabinet meeting.
The channel pointed out that the crisis heated up after the Israeli government signed a reconciliation agreement with Turkey not including any reference to the issue of missing soldiers in Gaza.
The mother of missing soldier Oron Shaul accused Netanyahu in recent press remarks of forgetting and neglecting the issue of her son.
The channel expected that the security cabinet would take new measures to pressure Hamas to disclose information on the missing soldiers, including tightening the incarceration conditions of its prisoners in Israeli prisons and rejailing more ex-detainees who were released as part of the 2011 swap deal.
Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, had revealed in early April 2016 that it had four Israeli captives, including two soldiers captured during the 2014 war, without providing clear information if they were alive or dead.
22 dec 2016
Member of Hamas’s political bureau Rawhi Mushtaha has expressed his belief that the Israeli occupation state will have to pay eventually a price for its captive soldiers in the Gaza Strip.
In an interview conducted with him by al-Aqsa satellite channel on Wednesday, Mushtaha said that one of his Movement’s goals is to liberate Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, stressing that Hamas is committed to that.
He stated that Israel had tried to gather information about its soldiers in Gaza from different parties and countries but all to no avail.
The Hamas official affirmed that his Movement would not engage in any talks about swapping prisoners or provide information on Israeli soldiers without Israel honoring the first swap deal (Shalit deal).
He stressed the need for releasing all detainees who had been released as part of the 2011 prisoner exchange deal and later re-jailed by Israel.
“It would be better for the Israeli government to hasten to strike the deal because our prisoners in its jails have the ability to remain steadfast and patient until there is a deal, something which the families of Israeli soldiers do not have,” he said.
In an interview conducted with him by al-Aqsa satellite channel on Wednesday, Mushtaha said that one of his Movement’s goals is to liberate Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, stressing that Hamas is committed to that.
He stated that Israel had tried to gather information about its soldiers in Gaza from different parties and countries but all to no avail.
The Hamas official affirmed that his Movement would not engage in any talks about swapping prisoners or provide information on Israeli soldiers without Israel honoring the first swap deal (Shalit deal).
He stressed the need for releasing all detainees who had been released as part of the 2011 prisoner exchange deal and later re-jailed by Israel.
“It would be better for the Israeli government to hasten to strike the deal because our prisoners in its jails have the ability to remain steadfast and patient until there is a deal, something which the families of Israeli soldiers do not have,” he said.
20 dec 2016
The Israeli Occupation Authority (IOA) has refused to release the Palestinian prisoner Naif Shawamra despite a court order to the effect.
Shawamra was kept by the Israeli intelligence in custody although an Israeli court has ordered his immediate release on Monday.
Several court orders were earlier issued for his release.
Shawamra, who was earlier released in Wafa al-Ahrar swap deal in 2011, was re-arrested in 2014 in flagrant violation of the prisoners' exchange deal.
Shawamra was kept by the Israeli intelligence in custody although an Israeli court has ordered his immediate release on Monday.
Several court orders were earlier issued for his release.
Shawamra, who was earlier released in Wafa al-Ahrar swap deal in 2011, was re-arrested in 2014 in flagrant violation of the prisoners' exchange deal.
17 dec 2016
The Palestinian prisoner Nael Barghouthi, 59, continues to be held in Israeli jails despite having served his prison sentence of 30 months, the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) said Saturday.
An appeal was submitted by the Israeli prosecution seeking to re-instate a previous life sentence on Barghouthi.
Barghouthi was first arrested in April 1978 and spent 34 years behind Israeli bars before being released as part of the Wafa al-Ahrar exchange deal.
In 2014, during an Israeli mass arrest campaign, he was re-arrested by military order number 1651 along with dozens of ex-detainees in total violation of the prisoners swap deal.
Today, he has spent over 36 years in Israeli prisons.
An appeal was submitted by the Israeli prosecution seeking to re-instate a previous life sentence on Barghouthi.
Barghouthi was first arrested in April 1978 and spent 34 years behind Israeli bars before being released as part of the Wafa al-Ahrar exchange deal.
In 2014, during an Israeli mass arrest campaign, he was re-arrested by military order number 1651 along with dozens of ex-detainees in total violation of the prisoners swap deal.
Today, he has spent over 36 years in Israeli prisons.
15 dec 2016
Israel’s Ofer court Thursday ordered a Palestinian prisoner released in the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange to spend the next five years in Israeli prison, the remaining time left from his previous detention, after he was redetained by Israeli forces in the wake of Israel’s 2014 military offensive on the besieged Gaza Strip.
According to Ruslam Mahajneh, a lawyer from the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS), Palestinian prisoner Mahmoud Abed al-Qader Haskour, from the occupied West Bank district of Ramallah and al-Bireh, had previously spent 10-and-a-half years of his 16-year sentence before being released under the prisoner exchange deal.
According to PPS, some 70 Palestinian prisoners who were released during the Gilad Shalit deal were redetained by Israeli forces in 2014 and were resentenced according to their remaining time left in prison before the deal.
In 2006, Gaza militants captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and held him for five years before freeing him in exchange for the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
However, at least 800 Palestinians were detained, including many of those released in the 2011 exchange, during a widespread detention campaign in 2011 referred to as "Operation Brother's Keeper," in which Israeli forces detained 800 Palestinians without charge or trial and killed nine civilians.
Senior Hamas official Ismail Radwan urged Palestinian resistance fighters earlier this month to capture Israeli soldiers in order to position them as a bargaining chip to force Israeli authorities into releasing Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.
As Israel currently holds 7,000 Palestinians in their prisons, and with 40 percent of Palestinian men having been detained by Israel at some point in their lives, many families of Palestinian political prisoners have rested heavily on the prospects of another prisoner swap between Israel and Palestinian leaders as the only promising avenue of their release.
According to Ruslam Mahajneh, a lawyer from the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS), Palestinian prisoner Mahmoud Abed al-Qader Haskour, from the occupied West Bank district of Ramallah and al-Bireh, had previously spent 10-and-a-half years of his 16-year sentence before being released under the prisoner exchange deal.
According to PPS, some 70 Palestinian prisoners who were released during the Gilad Shalit deal were redetained by Israeli forces in 2014 and were resentenced according to their remaining time left in prison before the deal.
In 2006, Gaza militants captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and held him for five years before freeing him in exchange for the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
However, at least 800 Palestinians were detained, including many of those released in the 2011 exchange, during a widespread detention campaign in 2011 referred to as "Operation Brother's Keeper," in which Israeli forces detained 800 Palestinians without charge or trial and killed nine civilians.
Senior Hamas official Ismail Radwan urged Palestinian resistance fighters earlier this month to capture Israeli soldiers in order to position them as a bargaining chip to force Israeli authorities into releasing Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.
As Israel currently holds 7,000 Palestinians in their prisons, and with 40 percent of Palestinian men having been detained by Israel at some point in their lives, many families of Palestinian political prisoners have rested heavily on the prospects of another prisoner swap between Israel and Palestinian leaders as the only promising avenue of their release.
6 dec 2016
Steps forwards have been made regarding prisoner swap negotiations over the soldiers held captive in Gaza, an Israeli news outlet reported Tuesday.
The Yisrael Hume newspaper quoted the Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Interior Minister Aryeh Deri as stating that underway negotiations regarding the Israeli soldiers held captive in Gaza have seen a progress, revealing no further details on the issue.
The statements by Kahlon and Deri, who co-chair a commission formed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu six months ago to negotiate prisoner swaps, were released following a meeting with Netanyahu and the captives’ families.
However, speaking to the press following the meeting, the family of the Israeli captive soldier Hadar Goldin said they have not seen any progress as regards the affair.
The Yisrael Hume newspaper quoted the Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Interior Minister Aryeh Deri as stating that underway negotiations regarding the Israeli soldiers held captive in Gaza have seen a progress, revealing no further details on the issue.
The statements by Kahlon and Deri, who co-chair a commission formed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu six months ago to negotiate prisoner swaps, were released following a meeting with Netanyahu and the captives’ families.
However, speaking to the press following the meeting, the family of the Israeli captive soldier Hadar Goldin said they have not seen any progress as regards the affair.
28 nov 2016
Six Palestinian brothers from the Abu Ramouz family are held in Israeli jails and detention centers in the occupied territories.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) identified the six siblings as Muadh, Ataa, Ibrahim, Mohamed, Mahmoud, and Thaer Sa’id Abu Ramouz.
Muadh, had spent a total of seven years out of an 18-year-sentence in Israeli jails before he was released in the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner swap deal with Hamas.
He was rearrested in 2014 and sentenced to 11 years. His brother Ibrahim was sentenced to one year and a half.
Ataa, Mahmoud, Mohamed, and Thaer are, meanwhile, held in Israeli detention centers.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) identified the six siblings as Muadh, Ataa, Ibrahim, Mohamed, Mahmoud, and Thaer Sa’id Abu Ramouz.
Muadh, had spent a total of seven years out of an 18-year-sentence in Israeli jails before he was released in the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner swap deal with Hamas.
He was rearrested in 2014 and sentenced to 11 years. His brother Ibrahim was sentenced to one year and a half.
Ataa, Mahmoud, Mohamed, and Thaer are, meanwhile, held in Israeli detention centers.
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