[Pnews] Israeli occupation authorities ban celebration for new freed Palestinian detainees

[Prisoner News]

http://english.pnn.ps/2021/04/04/israeli-occupation-authorities-ban-celebration-for-new-freed-palestinian-detainees/ 
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  Israeli occupation authorities ban celebration for new freed
  Palestinian detainees

April 4, 2021
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Bethlehem /PNN/

The day of freedom from prison is a special day for Palestinian 
political prisoners and their families. It is considered a national day 
where celebrations are held, and fireworks launched.

Yet, according to Israeli laws against Palestinians of Jerusalem, freed 
prisoners of Jerusalem are not allowed to hold any kind of celebration, 
whether in their neighborhood or in their own homes.

Furthermore, freed prisoners are often re-arrested by the occupation 
police to sign pledges to not hold any celebrations, ceremonies, and 
even the Palestinian flag; they are also not allowed to receive guests 
who wish to congratulate them on their release.

On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, the Israeli occupation forces stormed the 
home of Majd Barbar, a former Palestinian political prisoner, released 
after 20 years of detention, one day earlier. They kidnapped him and 
attacked family members and friends who were present in his home, in the 
Ras al-Amud neighborhood of occupied Jerusalem.

Barbar was released again after one day of detention, but under several 
conditions, including pledging not to hold celebration events, not to 
raise the Palestinian flag, not launching fireworks; and to pay a 
financial guarantee of 1,000 NIS.

Barbar is a father of two and has been detained by the Israeli 
occupation forces since 2001. On the day of his release, his family, 
friends, and neighbors of his Jerusalem al-Quds neighborhood welcomed 
him grandly. Several touching videos of this welcoming back reunion 
featuring Majd Barbar with his loved ones went viral on social media.

Zaina, 20-year-old daughter of Majd said, “The occupation always tries 
to snatch any joy and happiness from our hearts. It’s really unfair! 
The moment of my father’s freedom is so significant in our lives; 
Israel took him away from me since I was 15 days old.”

Ali Almoghrabi, a spokesperson of the Asra Information Office, said that 
this is a familiar pattern with Palestinian political prisoners held in 
the Israeli military prisons. “When they end their sentence, they are 
re-arrested. This Israeli policy is mostly used in Occupied Jerusalem 
al-Quds. Some ex-prisoners have been forcibly deported from their 
hometown for days, while others have been prohibited from celebrating or 
participating in any political or peaceful events,” he stated.

“The occupation aims at keeping Palestinians of Jerusalem al-Quds in 
states of pain, frustration, and sadness. It doesn’t want them to 
connect with their Palestinian identity”, he added.

For Jerusalemite ex-prisoners, the Israeli authorities re-detained many 
of them as they walked out of prison after serving long years.

“They were kidnapped and re-detained by Israeli forces and then 
re-released under restricted conditions by signing pledges to not 
celebrate or participate in any political or peaceful events”, said 
Amjad Abu Assab, head of the Committee of Families of Prisoners from 
Jerusalem.

Ali Almoghrabi, stated in an interview, “Such celebrations are 
considered as one of the popular resistance methods so the Occupation 
tries to stop them and kill any spirit of resistance or patriotism.”

The total number of Palestinians held in Israeli jails today is nearly 
5,000, of whom 450 remain in administrative detention. Over 500 
prisoners, including women and minors, are from Jerusalem al-Quds alone.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, the Israelis follow this 
policy in order to keep Palestinians in Occupied Jerusalem oppressed and 
disappointed so that no one can see the prisoner as a hero.

“The Israeli policy of no-celebration is nothing new,” the spokesman 
of Asra Information Office explained. “All the Israeli policies used 
against the prisoners are totally racist. They want to bury the 
Palestinian identity from Jerusalemites to show that Jerusalem al-Quds 
is completely Jewish.” He added that this policy is not implemented on 
the Israelis.

The Israelis also use another policy to oppress and harass newly freed 
Jerusalemites by deporting them to another city. Such a gross injustice 
happened to Waseem Aljallad a year ago.

Wassem Aljallad, 42, from Jerusalem al-Quds was re-detained and 
transferred to al-Maskubiya police station immediately after he had been 
freed from a 15-year prison sentence.

Aljallad was a new groom when he was arrested by the Israeli occupation 
forces. While the latter raided his home to re-arrest him, he was in 
pyjamas, and they dragged him this way out of his home. He was accused 
of participating in anti-occupation military operations.

His family planned to hold his wedding ceremony again after finishing 
his sentence, but the Israeli authorities forced him to cancel his 
wedding ceremonies and not to celebrate his release nor to attend any 
gatherings as a condition to his re-release.

They also deported him from Jerusalem al-Quds for two weeks and 
compelled him to pay a financial guarantee of $1,400 and another unpaid 
amount of $25,000. He was released one day after the expected day in 
July 2019. His mother said in pain that they waited this day.

The harassing policies that Israel applies against newly freed 
Palestinian prisoners vary according to the prisoners’ home regions 
and positions. Since the Israeli occupation forces fully control 
Jerusalem, they have completely banned celebrations there. In the Gaza 
Strip and the West Bank, prisoners are sometimes released at dawn or 
midnight to ensure families and friends cannot immediately greet and 
celebrate with the newly freed Palestinians. In cases where the 
detention of Palestinian political prisoners has grabbed media 
attention, like for teenager Ahed Tamimi, long-hunger-striker Khader 
Adnan, and journalist Mohammed AlQeeq, the Israeli authorities apply yet 
again different post-release policies.

Several human rights organizations demand that Israel stops these 
sadistic and harassing policies of freed Palestinian political prisoners.

Source: Press TV

-- 
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