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Algeria tells UN Security Council plight of Palestinian prisoners ‘too often ignored’
Algeria’s ambassador to the UN, Amar Bendjama, has told the UN Security Council that Palestinian detainees have been “silenced” and “abandoned by the international community”.
“They endure torture. They endure abuse. They endure denial of access by the ICRC in a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law,” Bendjama said at the meeting in New York on Wednesday.
Bendjama noted that 24 Palestinian detainees have been killed in Israeli custody since October and that Israeli forces are still withholding the bodies of 552 Palestinians from their loved ones, including some who died many years ago.
“Just this Monday,” he added, “the Israeli forces brutally executed Ayman Abed through beating and torture.”
“Do you know what Ayman Abed’s crime was? Nothing. He was arrested solely to pressure his son to turn himself in,” Bendjama said.
Families of US captives want Biden to make deal with Hamas, without Israel: Report
The families of US citizens held captive in Gaza have asked the White House to make a deal directly with Hamas to secure their release, NBC News is reporting, citing five people familiar with the discussions.
The Biden administration is reportedly currently considering the option, NBC News added.
The report comes after Biden on Monday said Netanyahu is not doing enough to secure a Gaza ceasefire deal, in rare public criticism of the Israeli leader from the US president while hundreds of thousands of Israelis have also taken to the streets expressing frustration at the Netanyahu government’s handling of the captive exchange negotiations.
