09.02.2025 08:20
It was reported that Israeli soldiers forced 62-year-old Palestinian prisoner Jamal al-Tawil to read a verse from the Torah that contained "threats against Jewish enemies" before releasing him during the fifth round of the prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel, and that they tortured Tawil after he refused to do so.
Sheikh Jamal al-Tawil, a member of Hamas's leadership cadre who has been imprisoned in Israeli jails for over 18 years, stated in images reported by the press that he was violently beaten before being released in the fifth round of the prisoner exchange that took place yesterday.
THEY TRIED TO MAKE HIM READ A VERSE CONTAINING THREATS TO JEWISH ENEMIES
After being released, Tawil, who was treated in a hospital in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, explained that just a few hours before his release, Israeli soldiers tried to make him read a verse from the Torah that contained threats to "Jewish enemies": "The eternal people will not forget. I will pursue my enemies and catch them. I will not return until I destroy them." He recounted that they beat him when he refused to do so. Tawil, who could not stand up to get off the International Red Cross bus carrying the prisoners, was taken to the hospital by Palestinian Red Crescent teams in an ambulance.
HAMAS HAD CONFIRMED TORTURE ALLEGATIONS
In a written statement made by Hamas yesterday, it was noted that the poor health conditions of the Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails indicate that the prisoners lived in tragic conditions in the prisons. The statement emphasized that the poor health conditions of the Palestinian prisoners released yesterday and earlier under the exchange agreement once again highlighted the tragic situation the prisoners experienced in Israeli jails.
The statement also conveyed that the immediate transfer of 7 prisoners, including Hamas official Jamal al-Tawil, to hospitals after their release revealed that the Israeli prison administration systematically mistreated the prisoners regardless of their age and health conditions.