The ceasefire and Palestinian prisoners – and who might be released

JVL Introduction

What has been happening to incarcerated Palestinians ?  We know that there has been a huge increase in detainees, over 3,000 under administrative detention, since October 7th 2023.  A similar number have been detained from Gaza (not in the formal figures).  There have been many documented cases of mistreatment and torture.  A key part of the Ceasefire deal is the release of Palestinian prisoners and, of course, the release of  the remaining Israeli hostages.  Will Marwan Barghouti, often referred to as potentially the Palestinian Mandela, be released.  (And we need to remember that Nelson Mandela was regarded as a terrorist by most western governments for most of the 27 years of his incarceration)

Hamas is pushing for Barghouti to be included, despite him having been a leader of Fatah but  Israel is refusing (so far) and it is also worth noting that, Barghouti’s name is never mentioned by Mahmoud Abbas, possibly because he would be seen as a serious rival.

Mouin Rabbani, a former UN official who worked as a special adviser on Israel-Palestine believed “that he could be the type of transitional, unifying figure that Palestinian political system desperately needs.”

LL

This article was originally published by Dropsite news on Fri 17 Jan 2025. Read the original here.