MASS IMPRISONMENT
Israel’s policy of mass imprisonment as a tactic of colonial warfare was all the more evident after 7 October 2023. By March 2024, BADIL Resource Centre reported that over 7,550 Palestinians had been arrested, including around 250 Palestinians with Israeli citizenship. This total number included hundreds of children and dozens of journalists. Crucially, it did not include those taken by the dozens from the Gaza Strip, many of whose whereabouts were totally unknown for months as they were held in secret Israeli detention centres. During a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas in November 2023, 117 Palestinian children and 33 women prisoners were released as part of a prisoner exchange deal. Israel banned any celebrations of their release (including distributing candy) or any media coverage, and also threatened the newly-released detainees with reimprisonment if they conducted media interviews or participated in celebrations. Israeli forces went as far as shooting sound grenades and tear gas to disperse crowds of people waiting for their loved ones to finally be released. Moreover, during the timeframe of the prisoner exchange, Israel arrested an additional 133 Palestinians in the West Bank. Imprisonment, and its constant threat, is a vital component of Israel’s containment of Palestinians, politically, psychologically and physically. The ceasefire agreement signed by Hamas and Israel in January 2025, which included phased waves of prisoner releases, demonstrates the sheer number of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, and the importance of decarceration for the Palestinian struggle. Israel also carried out mass arrests during the prisoner release process.
Key Moments in the Prisoner Release Process: 19 January 2025: Nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners were released. Including: 21 children, 20 administrative detainees, 44 detainees awaiting trial, 3 female prisoners who were re-arrested after the November 2023 exchange deal.
30 January 2025: 110 Palestinian prisoners were released. Including 30 children.
19 JAN
25 JAN
30 JAN
01 FEB
25 January 2025: 200 Palestinian prisoners were released. Most of these were arrested during the Second Intifada and received arbitrary sentences from Israeli military courts
01 February 2025: 183 Palestinian prisoners were released. 111 of them were arrested from the Gaza Strip after October 2023. Many of them were in poor health.
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