‘Less than slaves’: The Palestinians detained by Israel despite ceasefire

When the Gaza ceasefire agreement betwixt Israel and Hamas was announced connected January 15, Ghassan Alyeean says his archetypal feeling was alleviation that the wide sidesplitting of his countrymen mightiness yet end.

Like everyone successful the occupied West Bank, Alyeean was looking guardant to celebrating the state of 90 Palestinian prisoners who were to beryllium released successful the coming days successful speech for 3 Israeli captives arsenic portion of the ceasefire deal.

But the adjacent time – January 16, 3 days earlier the ceasefire took effect – Israeli soldiers raided Alyeean’s location successful Bethlehem and abducted his 22-year-old son, Adam, who was expected to beryllium assemblage exams successful the coming days.

“They took him for nary reason,” Alyeean, 60, told Al Jazeera implicit the phone. “There was nary mode to support him oregon my family.

“We are not saboteurs,” helium said, meaning they were not resisting oregon causing unrest.

Since the announcement of the Gaza ceasefire, Israel has arrested astatine slightest 95 Palestinians successful raids and astatine checkpoints for nary wide reasons crossed the West Bank, according to Jenna Abu Hasna, a researcher with Addameer, a Palestinian civilian nine organisation monitoring arrests and detentions successful the occupied territory.

Many of them were arrested successful the fewer days astir the onset of the ceasefire which took effect connected January 19.

The wide incarceration of Palestinians is conscionable 1 diagnostic of Israel’s amerciable concern of the West Bank, which besides involves expanding amerciable Israeli settlements and the mass killing, injuring and dispossession of civilians, according to rights groups and prisoners’ families.

“The concern we are surviving done is truly hard close now. We are treated arsenic slaves … oregon adjacent little than slaves,” said Alyeean, from his home.

Tool of repression

Since Israel captured and occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Israel has imprisoned immoderate 800,000 Palestinians crossed the occupied territory, according to the UN and B’Tselem, an Israeli quality rights organisation.

“[Mass incarceration] is portion of the apartheid regime,” Sharon Parnes, spokesperson for B’Tselem, told Al Jazeera.

“It is portion of trying to marque Palestinian beingness miserable successful bid to marque them privation to leave,” helium added.

Abuhasna from Addameer besides said Israel has a way grounds of rearresting dozens – sometimes hundreds – of Palestinians who person been released successful “captive deals”.  Sometimes this happens consecutive aft a woody is actioned, sometimes months oregon adjacent years later.

She referenced the captive woody for the instrumentality of Israeli worker Gilad Shalit, who had been captured by Hamas during a cross-border raid and brought backmost to Gaza successful 2005.

Five years later, Shalit was yet released successful speech for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, including Yahya Sinwar who helped orchestrate the October 7 attacks and who Israel killed successful Gaza successful October past year.

Three years later, Israel raided homes and rearrested dozens of Palestinians who had been released successful the Shalit woody for nary evident reason.

A radical of activists stitchery successful beforehand of Sde Teiman situation successful the Negev godforsaken adjacent the Gaza Strip, demanding the merchandise of Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces successful Gaza and the merchandise of Palestinians who were arrested without charge, successful Negev Desert, Israel connected January 10, 2025 [Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency]

Furthermore, Israel has arrested and rearrested hundreds of radical in the West Bank since it struck a captive woody with Hamas during a impermanent ceasefire betwixt the 2 warring parties successful November 2023, said Abuhasna.

“The maneuver of detaining Palestinians, adjacent during an statement oregon erstwhile a captive speech is occurring is thing new,” she told Al Jazeera.

“[The Israeli] concern continues to detain Palestinians during the aforesaid time erstwhile prisoners are released and sometimes days oregon years aft due to the fact that that is what an concern does: It violates planetary law,” she added.

A revolving door

Despite the caller arrests, galore Palestinian families person been capable to welcome loved ones backmost home aft the latest captive speech connected January 20.

Mohamed Amro, a 55-year-old begetter of 7 who lives successful Hebron, said helium was yet reunited with his 23-year-old daughter, Janin, who had been abducted successful the mediate of the nighttime from the family’s location during an Israeli raid connected December 3, 2023 – little than 2 months aft the commencement of the warfare connected Gaza.

He inactive recalls the events of that harrowing night, which person go a communal acquisition for galore Palestinians surviving nether concern successful the West Bank.

“The concern soldiers broke down the doorway and stormed successful and past abducted her from her bed,” Amro told Al Jazeera.

Janin was held successful administrative detention, a process inherited from the United Kingdom’s assemblage mandate successful Palestine which lasted from 1920 until 1948. During that time, the UK often jailed Palestinian critics and absorption fighters without crushed and without proceedings and connected concealed charges.

When Israel gained statehood aft expelling Palestinians from their onshore successful 1948 – an lawsuit referred to arsenic the Nakba, oregon “catastrophe” – it integrated this process successful bid to effort Palestinians successful subject courts alternatively than civilian courts wherever Israelis are tried.

Amro said his girl inactive does not cognize of immoderate charges brought against her and says she was subjected to utmost mistreatment successful prison. “From the time she was taken until the time she was released, Janin slept and woke up connected the acold level each night. Her country was besides truly freezing … and she was perpetually scared,” helium said.

Threats and intimidation

Amro was 1 of hundreds of radical waiting retired successful the acold for astir 10 hours successful Beitounia, West Bank until Palestinian prisoners from the captive exchange were released.

The prisoners were expected to beryllium released astir 4pm (14:00 GMT) successful the precocious day connected January 19, but this was delayed until 2am (00:00 GMT) the adjacent morning. When helium yet saw Janin stagger out, helium instantly saw that she had mislaid sizeable value and had acheronian bags nether her eyes from slumber deprivation.

Amro rapidly took his girl home, truthful she could remainder and yet get a bully night’s slumber aft spending much than a twelvemonth successful prison.

“She was traumatised,” Amro told Al Jazeera. “She wasn’t capable to afloat explicate however they treated her successful prison.”

A freed Palestinian captive poses for a photograph aft being released from an Israeli jailhouse arsenic portion of a hostages-prisoners swap and a ceasefire woody successful Gaza betwixt Hamas and Israel, successful Ramallah, successful the Israeli-occupied West Bank, January 20, 2025 [Ammar Awad/Reuters]

The adjacent day, Israeli soldiers banged connected Amro’s doorway and warned him not to person a enactment oregon observe Janin’s release, oregon other they would apprehension her again.

He promised helium wouldn’t, but helium remains terrified that Israeli soldiers volition raid his location again to apprehension Janin oregon 1 of his different children.

Part of surviving nether occupation, helium explained, is realising that your loved ones tin beryllium arrested astatine immoderate clip for nary evident reason.

“There is simply a batch of fearfulness close present due to the fact that of the escalating concern successful the West Bank,” helium said, successful resignation.

“Every day, the concern [army] arrests 30 to 40 oregon adjacent 50 caller prisoners.”