"3.6 thousand detained Palestinians have not been officially charged"

The formula for the hostage exchange in the second phase of the Gas deal will be different from the one in the first phase, since it will be about prisoners of war. Nahid al-Fahuri, a representative of the Hamas office for prisoners, said this in an interview with Izvestia. According to him, Turkey is the only country that has hosted Palestinians released from Israeli prisons as part of the deal. Approximately 3.6 thousand residents of the autonomy are still in prison without a conviction, in total there are more than 10 thousand Palestinians in prisons, 602 of them are serving life sentences, the movement said. The Hamas official added: the security services of the Jewish state detain an average of 60-70 people every day. According to him, Israel carried out torture, deprived people of clothes, blankets and mattresses, and also practiced starvation against Palestinian prisoners.

"The Palestinian Resistance has been fulfilling the agreements it signed"

— The first phase of the deal ends this week. However, Israel has stated that it will suspend the release of Palestinian prisoners. How many of them are still in Israeli prisons?

— The first phase of the ceasefire hostage exchange agreement is coming to an end after six weeks from the moment of its signing. This is stated in the text of the document. As you know, Israeli hostages were previously released in groups.

The Palestinian prisoners whose release was agreed upon were also released, with the exception of the last group. Israel has reneged on its obligations and added additional demands — this is a violation of the signed agreement. Intermediaries know this. Everyone saw that the Palestinian resistance was fulfilling the agreements it had signed. Israel, as usual, violates and renounces its obligations.

The number of Palestinian prisoners to be released under the exchange deal is 1,737. This figure was specified in the agreement. The total number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons exceeds 10,000. About 3.6 thousand of them were detained on administrative matters. They have not been officially charged, which is considered a violation of international laws and regulations, as well as the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions. Israel, as usual, denies all laws or customs stipulated by international law regarding the treatment of prisoners during the war.

Israel has postponed the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners from prisons scheduled for February 22 until Hamas cancels ceremonies accompanying the release of Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip. On February 26, the Palestinian organization announced that it had reached an agreement on Israel's release of the Palestinians at the same time as the transfer of the bodies of the Israeli hostages.

— How many of them are sentenced to life imprisonment? How many Palestinians were released during the ceasefire?

— The total number of prisoners in Israeli prisons sentenced to life imprisonment is 602 people. During the first phase of the ceasefire, it is estimated that 296 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment should be released. We hope that everything will go well and Israel will release the last group.

"There is not a day that 60-70 people are not detained"

— Has the pace of Palestinian detentions changed since the cease-fire in Gaza?

— The fact is that the scale of arrests is large and even unprecedented. Raids are conducted daily. House break-ins, searches, demolitions, and bulldozing. There is not a day that 60-70 people are not detained. Of course, not all of them remain in prisons, but this is an average number.

Some of them are detained for several days and then released. Some of these prisoners are being placed in administrative detention, while others are under investigation, but in general, daily detentions have not stopped, but, on the contrary, their pace has increased significantly since the invasion of the West Bank, in particular in the cities and camps in the north of the region. The entire West Bank is being subjected to violence by Israel, which carries out arbitrary campaigns on a daily and round-the-clock basis.

— Do the parameters of the second stage of the transaction differ from the first?

— Yes, the parameters for the second stage will be completely different compared to the parameters and formulas of the first stage. The first phase primarily concerned the sick and elderly. In other words, we are talking about the humanitarian stage. This determines the formula for exchanging Israeli hostages for Palestinian ones.

The second stage is certainly different, as it includes officers and soldiers of the Israeli forces captured by the Palestinian resistance in the IDF military camps and bases. So the price will definitely be completely different. This is also stated in the text of the agreement. It stipulates that the exchange formula and the parameters of the second stage differ from the first.

The deal on the release of hostages from the Gaza Strip entered into force on January 19. The first stage of the agreement provided for the release of 33 Israeli hostages and the partial withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza. The second stage concerns the release of the remaining hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops.

"Turkey is the only country where Palestinian prisoners were transferred"

— Are other countries considering accepting Palestinian prisoners? Which States refused?

— Turkey is still the only country where Palestinian prisoners have been transferred. Turkey agreed and accepted 15 people.

In fact, negotiations were held with many other countries, and the issue of accepting prisoners was raised with them. But we haven't received any answers yet. They study the issue and conduct consultations and discussions on it. I will not name specific countries. As soon as we get a clear answer from them, whether it's agreement or disagreement, we'll name them.

As part of the exchange deal, some Palestinian prisoners are to be deported from Israel and the Palestinian territories. The Jewish State insists on deporting those serving long prison terms to prevent their return to Palestinian resistance groups.

— In what conditions, according to your information, are Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons?

— As for the conditions of detention in Israeli prisons, they are very difficult. Photographs of the release of Palestinian prisoners demonstrate the scale of the crimes committed against them: torture, beatings, deprivation of clothes, blankets and mattresses, as well as the practice of starvation used by Israel against prisoners and neglect of medical care.

There are several reports, even in the Israeli press, that spoke about these practices. There are prisoners who have had their limbs amputated in prisons due to medical negligence, torture and other methods. There are also murders, direct or indirect, of prisoners in prisons.

From 1967 to the present day, the number of prisoners who died in prisons is approaching 300. 60 of them died between October 7, 2023, that is for the last 15 months. There were doctors among them, such as Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh.

The situation shows how Israel treats Palestinian prisoners in prisons. Diseases, of course, are very common. The Israeli authorities do not provide prisoners with any treatment. The testimonies, as well as photographs of those released, are the best evidence of the crimes committed by the occupation authorities against prisoners in prisons.

It is worth noting that Israel also blamed Hamas for the fact that the condition of the released hostages from Gaza was depressing. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the hostages' appearance after almost 500 days of captivity "horrifying." The footage of the prisoners' release shows that many of the hostages have lost a lot of weight.