Palestinian lawyer Karim Ajwa met three more Palestinians arrested by occupation forces during their ground invasion of Gaza; the meetings took place at Ashkelon prison on Thursday, August 14. He met with Maaz Mohammed Shehadeh Abu Teem, 20; Mohamed Salem Amour, 27; and Issa Khalil al-Najjar, 23, from Khan Younis and Khuz’aa. Palestinian lawyers are continuing to follow up on the cases of these detainees, determine who is detained from Gaza, investigate the torture and abuse to which they were subjected during their arrest, and demand their freedom. Ajwa had met with 12 additional detainees from Gaza on August 12.
Raafat Hamdouna said that Palestinian detainees from Gaza reported that they were beaten, stripped, and threatened with death upon their arrest.
Palestinians from Gaza are subject to the “Unlawful Combatants Law,” under which the Israeli occupation can imprison them indefinitely without charge or trial and on the basis of secret evidence, a law with even more broad implications than the administrative detention orders applied to Palestinians held without charge or trial in the West Bank.
Seven more Palestinians from Gaza detained and interrogated by occupation forces during the ground invasion and taken outside Gaza were released at the Erez crossing late Thursday night, August 14, reported the Ministry of Prisoners in Gaza.
