Palestinian prisoners should be considered ‘hostages’
Ubai Al-Aboudi, executive director of the Bisan Center for Research and Development, says one of the biggest misconceptions about Palestinian detainees held in Israeli jails is that they are granted due process.
“There is no legal recourse, no legal system, that grants Palestinians equal rights or even the right to a fair trial or to due process … Many of the Palestinians are convicted by secret evidence,” he explained.
Al-Aboudi noted that about 20 percent of the Palestinian population has been arrested or detained by Israel over the decades. But the situation in Israeli prisons has deteriorated dramatically since the war on Gaza began in October 2023.
“Released Palestinian prisoners are reporting that they have been beaten up” while incidents of rape and sexual assault have been widely documented, he told Al Jazeera from Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.
“This entire system dehumanises Palestinians,” he said, adding, “when we talk about Palestinian prisoners, we are actually talking about hostages”.
“Most of them are held without any due process, without being charged, and just based on military orders by a foreign military occupation.”
Palestinian-American boy describes dire conditions in Israeli prison
Mohammed Ibrahim, a Palestinian-American teen detained by Israel since March, spoke to a lawyer from Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP) about his imprisonment.
In a statement, the group said Ibrahim reported that eight Palestinian children share bunkbeds in each of 19 rooms at Ofer military prison in the occupied West Bank.
“The mattresses, whether on the beds or on the floor, are extremely light and inadequate. Each prisoner receives two blankets, yet we still feel cold at night. There is no heating or cooling system in the rooms,” the 16-year old said.
Ibrahim also said breakfast consists of “three tiny pieces of bread” while detainees are allowed to go outside to the yard once a day for a total of 40 minutes.
“Not even an American passport can protect Palestinian children,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Despite his family’s advocacy in Congress and involvement of the US embassy, Mohammad remains in Israeli prison. Israel is the only country in the world that systematically prosecutes children in military court.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/27/calls-grow-to-release-us-teen-mohammed-ibrahim-detained-by-israel
