Two Palestinians Complete 30 Years in Israeli Prison for Resisting the Occupation

Ramallah, MINA — Two Palestinians have completed 30 years in Israeli prisons and considered among the longest serving prisoners still held in Israel, the Prisoner’s Society said on Wednesday, WAFA reported/

Mahmoud Abu Kharbish, 52, and Juma Ibrahim Adam 49, both from Jericho, have so far served 30 years in prison out of a 99-year sentence for blowing up a bus with Israeli soldiers on it on October 13, 1988 killing five soldiers. They were arrested on the same day and had their homes in Jericho demolished.

Both prisoners were supposed to have been released in 2014 in the fourth batch of 123 prisoners detained since before the signing of the 1993 Oslo peace accords between Israel and the Palestinians as part of a US-led peace process.

After releasing the first three batches and came time to release the fourth and final group, Israel reneged on the agreement and peace negotiations were derailed as a result as the remaining prisoners held prior to Oslo were denied freedom.

Abu Kharbish is married and has a daughter who was an infant when he got arrested but has now completed her college education and got married while her father remains incarcerated. *T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)