Palestinian man reimprisoned upon leaving Israel prison after serving 19-year sentence

Israeli security forces intervene Palestinians with tear gas following a demonstration to show solidarity with Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, at Beit El checkpoint near Ramallah, West Bank on October 1, 2019. [Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency]

The Israeli occupation on Wednesday reimprisoned a Palestinian prisoner the moment he was released from Naqab Prison after completing his 19-year sentence, Wafa News Agency reported.

After leaving Naqab Prison, Malek Bukeirat, 41, was immediately re-detained and taken to Al-Moskobiyeh interrogation centre, also known as the Russian Compound, in West Jerusalem.

His family said that they were not allowed to shake hands with Bukeirat, nor to even touch him, after he was released from prison. The family were also banned from any celebration of his release.

The Israeli occupation forces raided and ransacked his family home in the Sur Baher neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem, forcing the family to remain outside, Wafa News Agency reported.

Bukeirat was initially detained on 31 December, 2001, at a checkpoint outside the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, and was later sentenced to 19 years in prison for “resisting the occupation”.

His father, Najeh Bukeirat, deputy director of the Waqf Department in Jerusalem, was also banned last month from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque by the Israeli authorities for a period of six months.

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