(Al Jazeera)
For every Palestinian Israel freed in the ceasefire deal, it apprehended 15 more. The number of political prisoners in its jails has doubled since the war began.
On April 17 every year, Palestinian Prisoner’s Day is commemorated to highlight the plight of those held in Israeli jails and their struggle for freedom against Israel’s continued occupation of their land.
The day marks the 1974 release of Mahmoud Bakr Hijazi, the first Palestinian freed in a prisoner swap with Israel. It was later designated to honour all Palestinian prisoners and highlight Israel’s ongoing detention of Palestinians and violation of their rights.
There are currently nearly 10,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails in Israel and the occupied territory, according to prisoners’ rights group Addameer. To Palestinians, they are political prisoners who must be freed.
400 child prisoners – Ahmad Manasra’s case
Israel is the only country in the world that tries children in military courts, often denying them their basic rights.
According to Defense for Children Palestine, about 500 to 700 Palestinian children are detained and prosecuted in the Israeli military court system each year – some as young as 12.
The most common charge is throwing stones, a crime punishable under military law by up to 20 years in prison.
Currently, 400 Palestinian children remain in Israeli prisons, most are in pre-trial detention and have not been convicted of any offence.
One of the most harrowing child prisoner cases is that of Ahmad Manasra, who was arrested at the age of 13, brutally interrogated and then sentenced.
Hassan, who was 15 at the time, was shot and killed by an Israeli civilian, while Ahmad was severely beaten by an Israeli mob and run over by a car.
He suffered fractures to his skull and internal bleeding.
At the time, Israeli law stated that children under 14 could not be held criminally responsible.
To circumvent this, Israeli authorities waited until Manasra turned 14 to sentence him. The law was changed in August 2016 to allow the prosecution of younger children.
Ahmad was charged with attempted murder and sentenced to 12 years in prison. The sentence was later reduced to 9.5 years.
Ahmad has long suffered from mental health issues. At the end of 2021, a psychiatrist from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) was allowed to visit him and diagnosed him with schizophrenia. This was the first time an external doctor was allowed to see him.
