Freed Palestinians burn ‘racist’ shirts pressured onto them by Israel in alternate for captives after tense negotiations.
Israel’s transfer to power the launched Palestinians to put on shirts with a Star of David brand and “we won’t neglect or forgive” written in Arabic has prompted anger and been slammed as a “racist crime”.
On Saturday, 369 Palestinians had been launched in alternate for 3 captives in Gaza following days of tense negotiations.
Earlier than the alternate, the Israel Jail Service launched images of some of the Palestinians wearing these provocative shirts. Because the Palestinians had been being returned, a lot of them wore their shirts inside out with a view to cowl the messages.
Forcing Palestian detainees to put on t-shirts with the Star of David and the phrases “We won’t neglect and we won’t forgive” written on them is a grotesque violation of worldwide regulation prohibiting outrages upon private dignity, specifically humiliating and degrading… pic.twitter.com/1wXhpRo33e
— Gary Spedding (@GarySpedding) February 15, 2025
Footage shot in Gaza by Al Jazeera confirmed a number of Palestinians setting hearth to the shirts upon their arrival on the European Gaza Hospital in Gaza’s Khan Younis.
“We condemn the occupation’s crime of inserting racist slogans on the backs of our heroic prisoners, and treating them with cruelty and violence, in a blatant violation of humanitarian legal guidelines and norms,” Hamas stated in a press release.
It added that that is “in distinction to the resistance’s agency dedication to ethical values in treating the occupation’s prisoners”.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group additionally condemned the shirts as a “racist crime”.
Who’s gonna guess we cannot see a single point out in mainstream media of Israel forcing tortured, starved & sexually assaulted aged captives in focus camps to put on “we’ll always remember & by no means forgive” shirts with stars of David? pic.twitter.com/AeDNVYzFS4
— Muhammad Shehada (@muhammadshehad2) February 15, 2025
In accordance with the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, quoting an Israeli supply, there was criticism in Israel over the uniforms as properly. A supply was quoted as saying that Israel’s political echelon was not knowledgeable of the transfer.
The choice to have the Palestinians don the shirts was made by Israel’s Jail Commissioner Kobi Yaacobi, the supply informed the broadcaster.
Mohamad Elmasry, a professor within the media research programme on the Doha Institute for Graduate Research, informed Al Jazeera that this was “one other methodology” underneath which Israel intends to “dehumanise” Palestinians.
The Worldwide Committee of the Crimson Cross (ICRC), which is facilitating the alternate, referred to as on all events for extra “dignified” releases.
“Regardless of repeatedly calling for all transfers to be carried out in a dignified and personal method, extra have to be executed by all sides, together with the mediators, to enhance future transfers,” the ICRC stated in a press release on Saturday.
Palestinians launched at this time from Israeli captivity had been made to put on shirts 👇with the assertion: “We won’t neglect and we won’t forgive.” 333 of the 369 Palestinians launched at this time are civilians forcibly disappeared from Gaza by Israeli forces, saved with out cost or trial. pic.twitter.com/9Q78UuNvZR
— Nour Odeh 🇵🇸🍉 #FreePalestine (@nour_odeh) February 15, 2025
The furore surrounding the provocative shirts underscores a protracted coverage of “humiliation”, in response to Xavier Abu Eid, a political analyst chatting with Al Jazeera from Bethlehem within the occupied West Financial institution.
“We’ve been analysing all through these previous weeks the humiliation of Palestinian prisoners,” Abu Eid stated. He famous this was “nothing new” however not solely broken the prisoners but additionally their households.
A complete of 24 captives and 985 Palestinians have been launched because the ceasefire started in January, in response to the ICRC.
