A Report on Prisoners Held by the Authority

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

The number of Palestinian detainees held by the Palestinian Authority keeps growing. I note first that the Authority is still detaining Mr. Ahmad Sa’adat, Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, along with his comrades, as hostages on behalf of Israel, America, and Britain. It is also detaining Fadi Hamran and Muhammad al-Abbushi from Jenin, as well as Ramzi Siyaara and Khaled al-Haroub from Hebron.

There are other detainees; below is a summary of their situations, based on statements from them:

Raed Ali Atta Khudeirat, from Adh-Dhahiriya, Hebron. Arrested on 10/2/2005. He was arrested in connection with a military operation in the Ramadin area that took place on 3/2/2005, in which four soldiers were wounded. He was interrogated by Preventive Security and Intelligence. Specifically, he was interrogated by Abu Nasser al-Ja’fari, head of Hebron intelligence. He confessed to nothing. The interrogators told him that Mahmoud Ismail Abu Zahra had confessed to the Israelis, and that he too must therefore confess. They put him in the cells for 55 days and subjected him to shabah [prolonged stress-position restraint]. He confessed to nothing.

Iyad Kamel Ishaq al-Tall, from Adh-Dhahiriya, Hebron. He was arrested in connection with the Ramadin operation. He was arrested by the Israelis at a military checkpoint on 10/2/2005, and they released him that same day. But the Palestinian Authority arrested him immediately after his release by the Israelis. They accused him of having ties to Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi. They brought in a man they described as a psychologist to witness the interrogation, and every time this “psychologist” said he was lying, they beat him. They told him they would hand him over to the security services if he confessed to having planned the Tel Aviv operation. In the end, they forced him to sign a blank sheet of paper whose lines they themselves had written. He confessed to nothing.

Sidqi Ahmad Khader, from Deir al-Ghusun, Tulkarm. The Authority’s intelligence service arrested him a few hours after the Zionists had arrested others from Deir al-Ghusun, in connection with the Tel Aviv operation that took place on 25–26 February 2005. He was subjected to shabah and threats, and accused of responsibility for the Tel Aviv operation. He confessed to nothing.

Jasser Hatem al-Qub, from Deir al-Ghusun, Tulkarm. He was arrested by Intelligence on 26/2/2005 in connection with the Tel Aviv operation. They put him in a dark cell for three days, and subjected him to standing shabah for two days. They gave him meager meals, and told him he was an agent for Israel and had to confess to responsibility for the Tel Aviv operation, which was liable to wreck the truce. He confessed to nothing.

Aasal Bashir Tawfiq Badran, from Deir al-Ghusun, Tulkarm. Preventive Security arrested him on 26/2/2005. They took him to their headquarters in Tulkarm. They accused him of responsibility for the Tel Aviv operation and heaped curses and finger-jabbing on him. They humiliated and tortured him, and kept him a week in Tulkarm. Abu Ansar, head of Preventive Security in Tulkarm, threatened him, but he confessed to nothing. On 4/3/2005 they transferred him to Jericho, put him in a cell, and interrogated him using beatings and threats. They gave him half a meal each day. They subjected him to shabah and accused him of being an agent for Israel, and of having carried out the Tel Aviv operation to wreck the truce. He confessed to nothing.

Mustafa Hussein Abd al-Ghani, from Saida, Tulkarm. Arrested on 2/3/2005 by Intelligence. Abdullah Kamil, head of Tulkarm intelligence, told him he was wanted by the Israelis, who wanted to kill him, whereas he, Kamil, wanted to save him from them. They asked him about his relationship with Shafiq Abd al-Ghani and Loay al-Sa’di. They accused him of spiritually and religiously preparing the man who carried out the Tel Aviv operation, and of having sent the video tape to Al Jazeera. Then they placed a pistol beside him and told him this was the martyr’s pistol. He confessed to nothing.

Sidiq Hassan Mahmoud Odeh, from Saida, Tulkarm. Intelligence arrested him at the hands of Awad Odeh and Ihab Ajaj. They accused him of seeking to carry out a martyrdom operation, and of having a relationship with Saraya al-Quds and Hezbollah. They interrogated him for nine days about an explosive belt he allegedly intended to use. He admitted to having requested a weapon from Saraya al-Quds, but denied all the other charges.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “تقرير حول أسرى لدى السلطة” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.