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Families of Detainees: We Want to Visit Our Sons & Daughters
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| Detainees tortured and humiliated by occupation forces. |
OCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, May 21 (IslamOnline) – Tens of detainee families went on
their weekly strike on Monday, May 20, in front of the International
Red Cross Committee in Gaza asking the international organization to
intervene in the release of the Palestinian detainees held by Israeli
occupation forces and to put an end to their suffering.
The
families raised the photographs of their sons and daughters, held
banners that condemned the occupation policy, and called on the
international community and human rights organizations to intervene
with Israel and allow the families to visit their sons.
Um
Mahmoud Al Khawaja, mother to one martyr and two detainees, said that
she is confident that Allah will reunite her with her sons even if it
is after a while. She added that the occupation has prevented her for
two years from visiting her sons, Hassan, who has been sentences for
seven years, and Yasser, who has been sentenced for 15 years, claiming
that she is a “terrorist” mother.
“I
used to visit Hassan and Yasser once a year, but now I’m deprived of
visiting them for two years. An Israeli intelligence soldier told me
once that I’m a terrorist mother and I won’t be able to visit them
all my life,” she said.
She
added that the occupation has deprived her form her four children,
killing one of them. Mahmoud, seven years ago, detaining Hassan and
Yasser and chasing her son Mohamad since six years. “I pray to Allah
that he breaks them, for they have done us and our children
injustice,” she said.
Ghalya
Baroud, also known as Umm Ibrahim, said that the occupation has barred
her from visiting her son Ibrahim, sentenced for 27 years since 13
years. “We are all prisoners of war, the Palestinian people are all
imprisoned and no one cares about us. Someday, despite Sharon and his
country, a day will come when Allah will help our children,” she
said.
The
wife of detainee Nafed Harz, who is sentenced for 17 years, called on
the world to stand beside the Palestinian people. “I go to visit my
husband but my children have been deprived from visiting him for seven
years, with no reason given. My husband forgot what his children look
like and my daughter Suha tells me that her only wish is to wake up in
the morning one day, go to her father and tell him good morning,”
she said.
Meanwhile,
four human rights organization managed to visit the Al Naqb detention
center on Friday, May 17. The four organization were the Palestinian
Human Rights Association, the Justice Association, the Haq
Organization and the Women’s Center For Legal Guidance. The
occupation forces allowed them to visit only 19 detention centers.
The
organizations’ lawyers said that the detainees are living under
difficult circumstances as the center is divided into three camps with
nearly 507 detainees who are not allowed to communicate with one
another.
The
detainees said that every 60 of them share one “toilet” which is
one big hole in the ground and there is only shower for all of them to
share. They need to stand in line for long hours to go to the bathroom
and there is no toilet paper, electricity, newspapers and radio in the
camp. The lawyers said that there are insects which may lead to the
deterioration of health and environmental conditions inside the
center.
The
detainees sleep on sponge mattresses placed on wooden planks and do
not have covers. Due to the extremely hot weather, they are unable to
sleep since the detention center does not provide them with electric
fans.
The
detainees said that there is also a daily humiliating counting ritual
held at the camps where the detainees are made to sit on the ground
under the sun for long periods of time and then they are asked to turn
when their numbers were called. Even the sick are asked to leave their
camps and are not exempted from this ritual.
The
number of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons are more than 7
thousand and are distributed on 19 Israeli prisons. 4,000 were
detained during the last nine weeks and are all facing torture ever
since their detention till they are released.
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