The latest batch of Palestinian children released by Israel as part of the truce deal with Hamas have spoken of their experiences in prison. They claim that they were beaten, tortured, abused, deliberately starved and intentionally deprived of information about what was going on in the world beyond the prison walls.

According to Yousef Burqan, a resident of Al-Thawri neighbourhood in occupied Jerusalem, he was beaten by the occupation prison authorities, before his release as part of the exchange deal with the Palestinian resistance in Gaza. He expressed his hope that all Palestinian prisoners will be released due to the extremely difficult conditions inside Israeli prisons.

Qusay Taqatqa from Bethlehem was arrested last year when he was 16. He said that he and his fellow prisoners heard about the Hamas operation on 7 October on the radio, after which the prison officers confiscated all televisions and radios and “completely changed” how they treated prisoners. “The treatment of the prison administration was barbaric for 50 days. They took away all the of our belongings.” No family visits or even communication was allowed.

“The conditions of our detention in the occupation prison were very harsh,” explained Omar Al-Shwaiki. “When the occupation authorities arrested me, I was 15 years old, and the detention room had 12 prisoners, even though it was intended for only six.” He pointed out that the prisoners suffered from the “inhumane” conditions. “It was very harsh, and there are many children aged between 13 and 15 being held by the occupation.”

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