Palestinian: Captives’ Release in Hostage Exchange Reveals Untold Suffering.

The 17-year-old Palestinian boy awoke to his mother’s cries as scores of Israeli troops poured into the bedroom via the front entrance of their home.One soldier asked the student, “Are you Obada?” at gunpoint as another questioned his younger brother, who was laying in the bed beside him. That was in June of 2022.

Obada Khalil claims that throughout his 38-day interrogation by Israeli intelligence in Jerusalem, he was placed in solitary confinement for all but three of those days. Badriya, his 47-year-old mother, was unaware of her adolescent son’s whereabouts and he lacked access to legal representation.

Interrogation Ordeal: Palestinian’s Innocence Questioned in Captivity, A Tale of Fear and Silence”

He remarked, “I have never had a weapon, but they kept asking me if I did.” They persisted in asking to be told something. I didn’t talk to my relatives at all. I had never been arrested before, until now. I was frightened. Asking them why this is occurring and what you can do is likewise not acceptable.

After that, he was put in administrative detention, kept there without being charged or given a chance to defend himself, and was perhaps kept in custody forever. Experts from the UN have condemned this approach as illegal and perhaps tantamount to arbitrary confinement.

As part of a precarious hostage situation involving Hamas and the Israelis, Obada was freed this week. Shortly after being released from jail on Sunday, he spoke with The Independent from his home in Silwad, West Bank, about his experience behind bars.

Injustice Unveiled: Uncharged Teen’s 17 Months in Custody & Release of Victims from Terrorist Capture”

Without a charge or trial, the adolescent, who was not associated with any political party, spent 17 months in custody at Ofer Prison without being made aware of the purported offense he had committed.86 Israeli men, women, and children who were kidnapped by terrorists during the deadly attack on October 7 in southern Israel have been released from captivity.

He was one of many Palestinian women and teenagers who were freed from Israeli prisons as part of an agreement mediated by Qatar between Israel and Hamas, the terrorist organization.180 Palestinians, including at least 12 kids and 11 women detained in administrative custody, have also been freed as of Wednesday.

How about: “Controversy Surrounds Israeli Detention: Allegations of Abuse and Silence Amid Hostage Ceasefire”?

Israel’s jail system, the practice of administrative detention, and the alleged use of torture and other cruel treatment—all of which Israel denies—have all come under scrutiny due to the hostage ceasefire agreement.The Israeli Prison Service, Ministry of Justice, Shin Bet intelligence agency, and Israeli military were contacted by The Independent; none of them responded.

Administrative detention, according to Israel, is an essential weapon for counterterrorism efforts because it lets them retain individuals without revealing important intelligence. UN experts counter that it’s effectively arbitrary detention, which is against both humanitarian law and international law. There have been cases where hunger strikes resulted in situations that were potentially fatal.

A person is innocent until proven guilty in a normal civilized country,” the 25-year-old stated. You can not establish your innocence in this situation, not even with administrative detention. You’re not even aware of your own guilt.

According to Addameer and Amnesty, there are currently 2,200 persons under administrative custody, which is the greatest number ever. Following Hamas’ October 7 assault in southern Israel, which claimed hundreds of lives and kidnapped many more, the numbers increased.The spokesman issued a warning, saying that if the Gaza situation worsens, these figures may rise: “There is no guarantee that those who are freed won’t be taken into custody again.”

UN Urges Israel to End Arbitrary Detention of Children as Families Voice Helplessness

In a 2021 report, the UN called on Israel to stop detaining children arbitrarily, calling it “particularly abhorrent and violating the minimum standards established by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.”Obada’s older brother, Ahmed, told The Independent that Palestinian families are unable to intervene.”

Spokesman for Addameer Tala Nasir emphasized a “mass campaign of arrests,” noting that 80 percent of those arrested were placed in administrative detention—a measure that was first implemented in the 1930s by the British mandate authority.

Prominent Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi, 22, who was imprisoned on November 6 and is scheduled to be released on Wednesday as part of the hostage release agreement, is one of the individuals in custody.