Freed Palestinians burn ‘racist’ shirts compelled onto them by Israel in alternate for captives after tense negotiations.
Israel’s transfer to pressure the launched Palestinians to put on shirts with a Star of David emblem and “we is not going to neglect or forgive” written in Arabic has prompted anger and been slammed as a “racist crime”.
On Saturday, 369 Palestinians were released in alternate for 3 captives in Gaza following days of tense negotiations.
Earlier than the alternate, the Israel Jail Service launched photographs of some of the Palestinians wearing these provocative shirts. Because the Palestinians had been being returned, quite a few them wore their shirts inside out as a way to cowl the messages.
Forcing Palestian detainees to put on t-shirts with the Star of David and the phrases “We is not going to neglect and we is not going to forgive” written on them is a grotesque violation of worldwide regulation prohibiting outrages upon private dignity, particularly 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 fireplace 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 mentioned in an announcement.
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 keeping with the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, quoting an Israeli supply, there was criticism in Israel over the uniforms as effectively. 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 technique” beneath which Israel intends to “dehumanise” Palestinians.
The Worldwide Committee of the Purple 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 performed by all sides, together with the mediators, to enhance future transfers,” the ICRC mentioned in an announcement on Saturday.
Palestinians launched in the present day from Israeli captivity had been made to put on shirts 👇with the assertion: “We is not going to neglect and we is not going to forgive.” 333 of the 369 Palestinians launched in the present day 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 accordance with 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 mentioned. 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 for the reason that ceasefire started in January, in accordance with the ICRC.
