Israel's Arrests and Releases: A Cycle of Unending Tensions

Israel has released 150 Palestinian prisoners, including 117 children and 33 women, during the ongoing truce with Hamas, while Hamas has released 69 captives, including 51 Israelis. However, Israel has also arrested at least 133 Palestinians from East Jerusalem and the West Bank during the same period. Palestinian prisoner associations argue that these arrests are part of Israel's ongoing policy of occupation and suppression of resistance. The worry for released Palestinian prisoners is that they are often rearrested by Israeli forces in the days, weeks, months, or years after their release. The conditions for Palestinians under arrest or in detention have severely declined since October 7, with reports of severe beatings, deaths in custody, and abuse in Israeli prisons.