Israeli Hypocrisy Surrounding the Deal
Al-Ahram, Egypt, January 24
Israeli voices strongly criticized the manner in which Hamas handed over the Israeli prisoners to Red Cross employees amid the throngs of Palestinian crowds in Al-Saraya Square, located in the heart of Gaza. The Israelis viewed this as a calculated move by Hamas to showcase its might, evidenced by a significant number of its fighters brandishing automatic weapons in their official uniforms, all while enveloped by thousands of Palestinians chanting for continued resistance against Israel. These dissenting Israelis called for a change in the procedure for handing over the remaining Israeli prisoners in subsequent batches, aiming to prevent Hamas from bolstering its image of strength and popular support.
Meanwhile, regarding the three Israeli female prisoners released in the first batch, Israel restricted them from engaging with the media, including Israeli outlets, to avoid a repeat of the November 2023 incident. At that time, the released female prisoners spoke to the media about the humane treatment they received from their Palestinian captors, which sparked criticism because their accounts clashed with the narrative Israel promotes of Palestinians as criminals and savages.
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Conversely, for the Palestinian prisoners released this week in exchange for the three Israeli female prisoners, Israeli authorities instructed their families to refrain from public celebrations, abstaining from taking celebratory pictures, inviting neighbors or relatives to welcome them, or engaging in traditional expressions of joy such as ululations and distributing sweets.
Reports from Palestinian prisoners detail that Israeli prison authorities consistently denied them basic rights mandated by international agreements, including the opportunity for exercise, limiting showers to three minutes, and providing only minimal food to maintain basic human activity. They were reportedly packed into cramped cells and denied medical treatment and visitation rights. They claimed these harsh measures were enforced with explicit instructions from Ben Gvir, the then-minister of national security, who held the authority to impose prison regulations.
This is the same minister who recently resigned from Netanyahu’s government in protest against the release of Palestinian prisoners and the Israeli army’s cessation of lethal actions against Palestinians in Gaza. —Ahmed Abdel-Tawwab (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)
