West Bank family decries son’s arrest by Palestinian authorities

By Salam AbuSharar

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - For 106 days, Palestinian Ahmad Hreish from the West Bank city of Ramallah has languished in a prison in Jericho known locally as “the slaughterhouse,” where Palestinian political detainees are sent and tortured by the forces of Palestinian Preventive Security (PPS).

Hreish's family told Anadolu Agency that their son has been detained by Palestinian security agencies 14 times since he was 18 and the latest instance was on June 6 while he was on his way home with his pregnant wife after they purchased some things for their first child.

“They were attacked by an armed group wearing black masks. My brother and his wife couldn’t determine their identities. They pointed their firearms at Ahmad, beat him in front of his wife and then arrested him and left her alone in the street,” Hreish’s sister, Asmaa, told Anadolu Agency.

That same night, armed members of PPS stormed the home of Hreish's family, arrested his brother in front of his children and detained him for 18 days after searching the premises where the family runs a business.

During that night, 18 Palestinians, including Ahmad, were arrested for political reasons, according to Lawyers for Justice, a legal group focused on human rights issues mainly the detention cases by Palestinian authorities in the occupied territories.

The family reported that their son was subjected to harsh torture and his body bore the marks of abuse.

“We met him for the first time after eight days. His body was full of bruises. He told the judge he was not being interrogated and that he was being subjected to torture all the time,” said Asmaa.

She said her brother is being detained in inhumane conditions and is exposed to physical and mental humiliation by Palestinian security officers.

After 45 days, the family was allowed to visit their son weekly for 15 minutes in the presence of security officers.

"There is a glass panel separating us. Every single word we say, the officers know it. They humiliated my mother when she asked Ahmad about the place of his detention and the conditions of life in prison,” she added.

Besides being arrested numerous times, the ex-detainee Ahmad had also been sentenced by Israel many times to administrative detention, the latest was from January to August 2021.

One month ago, he became a father for the first time, and looking forward to see his newly-born baby.

“Despite all our demands to release Ahmad to be with his wife during her delivery, Karam was born in the forced absence of his father. This pain is hard to describe with words,” she said.

“Around 20 days ago, my mother started an open hunger strike to protest against her son's detention,” she added.

One-month-old Karam Hreish is the youngest participant in the ongoing protests in Ramallah against the latest campaign by the Palestinian Authority to arrest tens of Palestinian activists due to their political activities.

The latest protest was on Saturday in Ramallah, where Palestinian families and many other residents gathered to voice their opposition to the political arrests and demand the release of all detainees at the Palestinian intelligence service's Jericho prison.

Lawyers for Justice, NGO, and the families of detainees held a press conference to clarify the recent developments of the case dubbed “Beitunia’s carpenter.”

The head of Lawyers for Justice, Muhannad Karajeh, said criminal charges were politically motivated and have been filed for six of the detainees and a hearing will be held on Sept. 21.

Karajeh highlighted that the advocates are not allowed to have a copy of the file and were allowed to view it 20 days ago.

“We have documented many abuses and human rights violations in this file, and the conditions of detention in the Jericho prison are very difficult. There are allegations that the detainees are prevented from going to the bathroom many times and some have been assaulted because of their requests,” he said at the conference.

“The majority of the detainees, in this case, were ex-prisoners in the Israeli jails, and they are interrogated on same charges,” he added.

The arrest campaign also targeted students and journalists due to their political activities.

Anadolu Agency's reporter tried to get a comment from the spokesman of the Palestinian security forces Talal Dweekat but he has yet to reply. Dweekat confirmed, in earlier statements, that they have no single political prisoner in the occupied West Bank.