To the resident of Masafer Yatta who was released from detention: let the soul out a little more

A young Palestinian, S, was locked up in a jail in Ashkelon (Israel) and released some weeks ago. Upon his release, the authorities failed to return to him his ID card and 4000IS, money which he had on him at the time of his arrest. According to the trapping laws of the occupation, the young man and/or members of his family could not reach Ashkelon and release the money+ ID card, since they were, and are, unable to enter Israel from the West Bank.

An elderly Israeli aunt from Beer Sheeba, named Sabah, was located and agreed to help in releasing the items for S.  Pursuant to a request of Israeli local activists, who aid the inhabitants of Masafer Yatta villages, we, members of the Southern Group of Machsom Watch, volunteered to execute the task. We travelled with auntie to the Shikma jail in Ashkelon, we met Kobi, a helpful activist, who brought us a Power of Attorney, and we got the money and the ID card and then delivered them back to the village in Masafer Yatta.  Task successfully accomplished!

 Money is always important, and since 7 October so much the more so, due to the blockade of all villages on the West Bank and S’s besieged family therein. This is yet another tale about the cruel reality of the occupation.

The above case is neither a one off nor an exception. Every arrested Palestinian brought to a prison has to surrender their ID card and what money they have on them at the time; sometimes they hsve to pay an additional sum as a bail condition when released from the prison. Not infrequently, the authorities forget to return the money and the ID card; consequently, an individual move from jail in Israel to his village in the West Bank without any documents which can identify him to the authorities (the IDF, Border Police, the police of the Palestinian Authority) as and when necessary, and risks a new arrest.

Sometimes bureaucracy complicates the situation by demanding that items such as above can be released to a family member only; other times any Israeli would suffice. At times, the items are lost – especially if the prisoner is moved around from jail to a holding cell elsewhere and then yet another prison. This happens despite there being, or at least ostensibly being in existence a proper registration system of all places the prisoner has passed through from the time of his arrest. In short, it’s a catch by which its victims become effectively imprisoned in their own villages. Even in the occupied territories, their own land, they cannot move freely.

It has to be pointed out that not every resident of the West Bank has relatives in Israel, which in turn adds to the difficulties. Hence to involvement of area activists, Machsom Watch and others, as coordinators and intermediaries, is essential for releasing items such as those mentioned above.

Is the “forgetting” intentional or dictated from above? Perhaps it is just human error of the prison authorities, forgetting to return personal items to released persons, despite this being a daily occurrence? It has to be pointed out that as and when a relative or volunteer come to free items and the items exist, it is usually a trouble-free procedure. Nevertheless, due to multiplicity of such occurrences, it looks, and feels, like deliberate maltreatment, or at least just indifference, at the local level of the prison guards.

There is no information to indicate that the problem is also prevalent amongst released women