Hamas condemns Israel for 'racist slogans' on outfits of freed Palestinian prisoners
Hamas says Israel’s move in marking the outfits of released Palestinian prisoners with "racist slogans" comes in sharp contrast to the resistance’s firm commitment to moral values in treating Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian prisoners released into the occupied West Bank and al-Quds on Saturday were wearing white sweatshirts, which were marked with a Star of David, and the phrase, “Never forgive, never forget” in Arabic on the front and back.
“We condemn the occupation’s crime of placing racist slogans on the backs of our heroic prisoners, and treating them with cruelty and violence, in a blatant violation of humanitarian laws and norms,” Hamas said in a statement.
The Palestinian resistance group said this is “in contrast to the resistance’s firm commitment to moral values in treating the occupation’s prisoners.”
It said the “crime of placing racist slogans on the backs of our heroic prisoners and treating them with cruelty and violence” deserves condemnation.
Under a fragile ceasefire agreement that took effect on January 19, Hamas released three more Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip in the sixth such exchange on Saturday.
In exchange, Israel began freeing 369 Palestinian inductees held in the regime’s prisons. It is the largest number of Palestinians to be freed since the beginning of the ceasefire.
In the same statement, Hamas said the release of “our heroic prisoners” is “a new step in our long journey towards Jerusalem (al-Quds).”
“The issue of liberating the prisoners will remain at the top of the priorities of our people and our heroic resistance, and victory will not be complete unless all of them are liberated.”
Hamas also said that the release of Israeli captives has now placed Tel Aviv “before the responsibility of adhering to the agreement and the humanitarian protocol, and starting the second phase negotiations without procrastination.”
About 333 Palestinian prisoners who are returning home today have been arrested in Gaza and will be sent back to the besieged enclave.
About 10 prisoners will be released in the occupied West Bank, one in occupied al-Quds. The other prisoners will go to Egypt where they will be sent to exile.
As part of the ceasefire agreement, Israel committed to releasing over 1,000 of those detained from Gaza since October 2023.
Israeli forces have abducted hundreds of people and held them without trial since the regime launched its brutal campaign of genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza on Oct.7, 2023.
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