Freed prisoner Nasser Al-Shaer and his wife after his release (Al-Jazeera)

Nablus -

 “The condition in which he was released was not like that at the time of his arrest. He is not my husband Nasser that we know, and at first glance we felt shocked when we saw him, and all of that explains that he was not well inside the prison.” With these words, Hoda Al-Shaer described the wife of Dr. Nasser Al-Shaer, the academic. Professor of Sharia at An-Najah National University, the situation her husband fell into after his liberation from the Israeli occupation prisons.

Yesterday evening, Monday, the Israeli occupation authorities released Al-Shaer from the Israeli Gilboa prison after about 5 and a half months in administrative detention, after the end of the period to confirm the administrative decision he obtained from the Israeli Supreme Court.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, the poet’s wife said that her husband left in a very difficult health condition, showing signs of extreme fatigue, exhaustion and emaciation, and that the appearance in which he left was not the same at the time of his arrest, and all of this confirms that he lost about 25 kilograms of his weight, adding that he “He came out in the form of a skeleton, so much so that his chest bones and their number could be clearly seen.”

Al-Shaer explained that they - the family - were astonished at first sight when they saw him, and that they felt a feeling of concern about his health condition, which is why they took him to Rafidiya Governmental Hospital on Tuesday morning, hours after his release, to reassure him of his health condition.

The poet's wife narrates what happened to her husband during his detention period (Al Jazeera)

Gray and emaciated

Hoda Al-Shaer revealed that the first time her husband saw himself in the mirror was yesterday, Monday, after his liberation, so much so that he himself was shocked by his condition, and not just us. She said that gray had invaded his thick hair, which appears to have not been shaved since his arrest, and his facial features also changed, His eyes sunk into his face.

She added, "The effects of old age appeared clearly during this period, as if years of his life had passed. This time was different from his previous arrests, especially his thin body, which confirms that the food and drink he received as a prisoner did not satisfy his hunger."

She stated that due to his thin body, his clothes were no longer suitable for him to wear, and like his weight, the occupation confiscated his medical crutch, which he had been using since he was shot when he was subjected to an assassination attempt in July 2022, in the city of Nablus, and the occupation also confiscated his shoes.

Although Al-Shaer’s family knew that yesterday, Monday, his detention period would end, they were not certain of his release due to the occupation’s arrogance and its arbitrary measures. They learned of his release after a citizen called them near the Al-Jalama checkpoint, north of the city of Jenin, in the northern West Bank, and told them that Al-Shaer had been released. .

Immediately, the poet's wife says that they set off for the Al-Jalama checkpoint immediately after his release, and by then it was time for breakfast, so the poet contented himself with drinking water only, as he was unable to eat any food or even sleep, and he remained awake until the next day.

Upon his arrest late last October, Dr. Nasser Al-Shaer was transferred to the Israeli Megiddo Prison in the north, where he remained for about a month and a half, and was then transferred to Gilboa Prison, where he completed the remainder of his detention period.

This is the sixth arrest of Dr. Al-Shaer, who served as Minister of Education and Deputy Prime Minister in the tenth Palestinian government formed by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in 2006 following its victory in the legislative elections.

Dr. Al-Shaer Nasser lost a lot of weight during his detention period (Al-Jazeera)

Unprecedented repression

In many accounts, liberated prisoners confirmed - to Al Jazeera Net - that since the Al-Aqsa flood on October 7, the prisoners have been subjected to unprecedented violent repression and intimidation in the occupation prisons, in addition to being deprived of sleep and its tools, food, drink, and showering, especially during the first four months of the war.

Prisoners stated that the occupation authorities intended to restrict them inside the rooms by overcrowding them, and provided one meal, “a plate of labneh,” to about 8 or 10 prisoners, and confiscated all their acquisitions, including electrical appliances, blankets, and furniture, which they achieved through long and difficult hunger strikes.

They were also subjected to daily repression, sometimes more than once during the day. They were forbidden to go out to the prison (prison yard), cut off contact with them, and were prevented from visiting lawyers and even going to the prison clinic, in addition to direct assault and beatings, which caused some of them to lose their teeth and deepen their wounds, which led to the martyrdom of 13 prisoners in the occupation prisons. Since the war on Gaza, according to data from the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club.

Starvation policy

In a statement issued today, Tuesday, by the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, accounts were reported from prisoners during visits by lawyers to them, who confirmed that the occupation continued its "starvation policy" of prisoners, and that this appeared noticeable in their health conditions and the condition in which they were left.

The club stated that the food is poor in quantity and quality and is not cooked well, which causes diseases for them, which has led to many prisoners losing a large amount of their weight. The club gave an example in the words of one of the prisoners, saying, “During the month of Ramadan we suffer from malnutrition, so each prisoner gets 10 spoons of rice.” And two small cartons of milk provided for 12 prisoners.

Since the seventh of last October, the occupation has carried out about 8,000 arrests among Palestinians, including 258 Palestinian women and 500 children. A statement from the Prisoners’ Club stated that as of the end of last February, the number of prisoners exceeded 9,100, including 3,558 administrative detainees, and 793 classified as “Illegal combatants” from Gaza’s prisoners.

Source: Al Jazeera