Alwaght- The release of the Palestinian prisoners from the Israeli prisons has always been one of the most memorable and sweetest moments of life of any Palestinian.
These days Palestine has a different atmosphere and amid the plight and devastation caused by Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, spirit of hope is still being seen among the residents of Gaza. One of the beautiful scenes of this optimism is made by the return of the recently released prisoners who have brought with themselves happiness to the Palestinian lands.
In this scenes, too, the Israeli defeat was obvious like in the war. One of the aspects of defeat and disgrace for Tel Aviv and its Western allies is the revelation of the abusive treatment of Palestinian prisoners, just contrary to the humanitarian and considerate treatment of Israeli prisoners by Palestinian resistance groups. Israeli prisoners held by resistance groups are seen to be in perfect physical and mental health, but Palestinian prisoners released from the regime's prisons report enduring severe torture by Israeli prison officers during their time in captivity.
According to Khaleej Online, signs of torture and excruciating pressures on the body of a released Palestinian prisoner indicate tough days this man went through over a year of his captivity in Israeli prisons. This proves that he and other Palestinian prisoners were under constant tortures of the military personnel and prison guards.
The emaciated and bony body of Antar Agha, who was released on February 1 as part of a prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel, could not even bear him to the welcoming ceremony with his relatives and friends and he fell to the ground. He is one of the prisoners who returned to the Gaza Strip and confirmed in an interview with media that during his captivity, he experienced the most severe types of torture, forced sleeplessness and starvation.
Agha reported cranking up the pressure and torture on Palestinian prisoners during the Gaza war after October 7, saying: "We were humiliated and tortured, we endured a whole year of suffering and oppression, days that were very difficult, and our bodies speak of what we went through."
The severity of the daily torture broke his ribs, and at one point he was unable to even walk. His wrists and feet bear deep scars indicating that they were tied tightly with ropes or handcuffs and shackles for a long time. He and other Gaza prisoners were systematically and daily tortured by prison guards, standing in a line and being beaten one by one by soldiers.
One of the harshest tortures Agha suffered was in Negev prison, where the prison guards forced him and other prisoners to stand with bare feet on hot metal sheets, something unbearable by humans.
The lack of water and sanitation in the prison has caused Agha and many other prisoners to develop skin diseases, as they were deliberately deprived of bathing for long periods and were not given any treatment.
Another released prisoner, Nasrallah Muammar, who spent 18 years in prison and was sentenced to life imprisonment, says: “The hardest days in prison began after October 7, when the Israeli soldiers lost control and the torture became a daily and devastating process.”
He and other prisoners were deprived of sleep for long hours, beaten, denied food, and had no access to a doctor or any kind of medical treatment. Muammar describes his moment of freedom as “as if I had returned to life from a narrow grave.” He spent these difficult years alongside thousands of other prisoners, especially after the events of October 7.
"I cannot describe to the world what happened to me over the past year. We were deliberately humiliated, pressured, and deprived of water in order for the enemy to break our will and dignity."
In the last days of captivity, Muammar subjected to extreme questioning of Israeli intelligence officers and was threatened with assassination after freedom if he cooperated with resistance forces.
The prisoner who had no strength to walk
Ali Hassan, a 56-year-old released prisoner, spent 21 years of his life in Israeli prisons and was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 20 years. His conditions were much harsher than those of other prisoners due to his physical condition.
He says of the torture he and other prisoners were subjected to since October 7, 2023: "The soldiers walked on our bodies, forcibly stripped us completely naked, and searched us."
Among the most horrific tortures he experienced was being forced to be completely naked during interrogation and being constantly beaten, regardless of his physical condition.
Human rights reports
In addition to testimonies given by the Palestinian prisoners about their experiences in Israeli prisons, the Palestinian Prisoners and Released Prisoners Affairs Board and Palestinian Prisoners Society are groups that have published reports and documents about tortures Palestinian prisoners subjected to on Israeli jails.
In these reports, 11 prisoners from Sde Teimon Detention Camp, Neftali Prison, Anatot Prison, and Negev Prison have given testimonies, indicating the scale of Israeli inhuman behavior, abuse, torture, and humiliation.
They have explained that during harrowing detention and interrogation, they have been exposed to severe restrictions. Their hands were cuffed, eyes blindfolded, and they were held in painful spaces for long times.
Some have referred to “disco interrogation,” a method in which detainees are exposed to very loud music for two consecutive days. Others have appeared in five-minute court hearings after only 30 days of interrogation, without being told any specific charges.
Detainees at Anatot Prison have said that they were handcuffed and blindfolded at all times during their captivity, and had no contact with other prisoners. One of these detainees, who was arrested in November 2024, maintained that he was interrogated blindfolded for four days in inhumane conditions at Sde Teimon Detention Camp.
Before transfer to Anatot, he says, he was severely tortured and his nose blended, and then was returned behind bars after a three-minute hearing.
These reports suggest existence in Israeli prisons of systematic prisoner rights violations that saw a sharp increase after recent war.
