By Mel Frykberg
"RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec 17 (IPS) - Israel released over 200 Palestinians from Israeli jails in a "goodwill gesture" Monday. This followed the Muslim feast of Eid Al-Adha and was an attempt to boost the waning popularity of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Several prisoners spoke to the assembled local and international media about their time in detention. They accused the Israelis of maltreating and physically abusing detainees despite Israeli claims that torture and the abuse of prisoners have been outlawed and no longer occur.
Most of the detainees were Fatah members, the movement associated with Abbas and the ruling Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank....
While Israel's "goodwill gesture" was much touted by the Israeli media, the majority of the prisoners were mostly small-time political detainees, who were due for release fairly shortly, having already served most of their sentences.
Many were teenagers when imprisoned and none were convicted of injuring or killing Israelis. As negotiations were under way for the release of the 227 prisoners, hundreds more Palestinians were arrested by Israeli security forces.
The move was widely seen as an effort to boost Abbas's floundering PA....."
"RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec 17 (IPS) - Israel released over 200 Palestinians from Israeli jails in a "goodwill gesture" Monday. This followed the Muslim feast of Eid Al-Adha and was an attempt to boost the waning popularity of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Several prisoners spoke to the assembled local and international media about their time in detention. They accused the Israelis of maltreating and physically abusing detainees despite Israeli claims that torture and the abuse of prisoners have been outlawed and no longer occur.
Most of the detainees were Fatah members, the movement associated with Abbas and the ruling Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank....
While Israel's "goodwill gesture" was much touted by the Israeli media, the majority of the prisoners were mostly small-time political detainees, who were due for release fairly shortly, having already served most of their sentences.
Many were teenagers when imprisoned and none were convicted of injuring or killing Israelis. As negotiations were under way for the release of the 227 prisoners, hundreds more Palestinians were arrested by Israeli security forces.
The move was widely seen as an effort to boost Abbas's floundering PA....."
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