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Israeli occupation forces raided Al Jazeera’s office in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, shortly after midnight.
They extended the office’s closure for an additional 60 days and posted a military order at the entrance.
Last September, the army also stormed Al Jazeera’s office under a military order, handed the staff a closure notice, confiscated all equipment and documents, and barred the employees from using their vehicles.
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US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited the Palestinian town of Taybeh on Saturday, days after a historic church there was attacked and vandalized by illegal Israeli settlers.
During his visit, Huckabee toured the site of Al-Khadr Church in the town, northeast of Ramallah in the central West Bank.
“Desecrating a church, mosque or synagogue is a crime against humanity and God,” the diplomat said on his X account.
He also emphasized that “when American citizens – Jewish, Muslim or Christian – are terrorized or victims of crime, I will demand those responsible be held accountable with real consequences.”
According to local reports, illegal settlers stormed the area around the centuries-old church last week, set fires in its surroundings, and brought livestock into the church compound as reported in Anadolu.
The town, home to many American citizens, has faced a surge in settler violence in recent weeks.
Attacks by illegal settlers have also targeted nearby Bedouin communities, as part of a broader escalation across the West Bank.
Palestinian authorities documented at least 2,153 illegal settler attacks in the occupied territory in the first half of this year alone, resulting in the killing of four Palestinians.
Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
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Muhammad Barrash spent 22 years in an Israeli prison, enduring blindness, pain, and medical neglect. On Saturday, he finally walked free.
Barrash’s story is one of unimaginable suffering. In 2002, an Israeli “Energa” shell struck him in the heart of Ramallah in the West Bank. The explosion took his left leg, damaged his right, and left him partially blind. In June 2003, Israeli forces captured him. He was sentenced to three life terms and an additional 40 years.
Prison only deepened his suffering. Within a year of his detention, Barrash lost his eyesight completely. His right eye, already injured, deteriorated due to untreated medical conditions. But he kept this secret from his mother.
“Don’t tell my mother I am blind,” he wrote in a letter from prison in 2012. “She sees me, but I cannot see her. I smile and pretend when she holds up pictures of my brothers and friends. She doesn’t know that darkness has taken over my body.”
For years, Israeli prison authorities denied him medical care. He waited endlessly for a corneal transplant. The procedure never came. His body bore the scars of war—shrapnel embedded in his flesh, his right leg deteriorating. In 2021, he discovered that Israeli prison authorities had been giving him expired cholesterol medication, worsening his condition.
Meanwhile, his mother waited. She fought to visit him. She dreamed of his freedom. And on Saturday, her prayers were answered. Barrash stepped out of prison, no longer behind bars but forever marked by the years of neglect and torment.
His release is part of the first phase of a prisoner exchange deal between the resistance and the occupation state. For many, his story symbolizes the brutal conditions faced by Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.
Despite the blindness, the wounds, and the suffering, Barrash survived. He is free. But the scars remain.
The harrowing experiences of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention centers have long been a subject of international concern. Recent reports highlight a disturbing escalation in the severity of torture and mistreatment.
According to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS), detainees released as part of the recent prisoner exchange exhibited signs of “unprecedented” torture and starvation. Freed prisoners were observed wearing stained grey prison jumpsuits, bearing physical evidence of prolonged abuse. Testimonies revealed that many endured severe beatings leading to broken ribs, systematic medical neglect, and deliberate starvation. Some suffered from untreated skin conditions like scabies, exacerbated by the harsh prison environment.
Further reports from the Arab Workers Union indicate that Palestinian workers arrested following the October 2023 Israeli genocide in Gaza faced brutal treatment. Legal advisor Wehbe Badarneh disclosed that 34 workers died under mysterious circumstances or from alleged heart attacks while in detention. Testimonies from survivors detailed horrific abuse, including beatings, stripping, and various torture methods. These accounts suggest that some workers were tortured to death, prompting calls for international legal action against Israel.
Amnesty International has also documented a sharp increase in the use of administrative detention by Israeli authorities, leading to arbitrary arrests of Palestinians across the occupied West Bank. The organization reported that detainees suffered from inhuman and degrading treatment, with incidents of torture and deaths in custody going uninvestigated. This pattern of abuse underscores a systemic issue within the Israeli detention system according to the Quds News Network.
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Palestinian prisoners released by Israel on Saturday as part of the Gaza ceasefire and exchange deal said they were treated badly in the days leading to their freedom.
During their reception in Ramallah, occupied West Bank, a number of prisoners said they faced death threats from the Israeli army, endured severe beatings, and were deprived of food and water, according to an Anadolu correspondent on the ground.
The deteriorating health condition of the released prisoners was evident, with some appearing unable to walk on their own, while others were carried in wheelchairs. Many were taken to hospitals for medical checkup and treatment.
“The Israeli prison system subjected the prisoners to brutal beatings before their release, which continued for days, according to numerous testimonies,” the Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a statement.
“In some cases, the beatings resulted in rib fractures.”
The group stressed that Israel systematically terrorizes the to-be-released prisoners and their families through various means, most notably severe beatings and threats, including death threats, if any welcome celebrations are held.
Buses carrying Palestinian prisoners set free arrived in Ramallah and Khan Younis, southern Gaza on Saturday. A total of 183 prisoners were to be freed in the fourth prisoner-hostage swap under the truce.
Three Israeli captives — Keith Siegel, Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas — were also released by Hamas.
