Israeli court postpones longest trial in history of Palestinian prisoners once again

The Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission said the Israeli occupation court postponed the trial of former Gaza aid worker, Mohammad al-Halabi, who has been subjected to the longest trial in the history of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons, until September 2.

The commission, in a statement, said the Israeli court postponed the trial of al-Halabi, the former Gaza director of the World Vision charity, making the next court hearing scheduled for September 2 the 166th court hearing he will be subject to since his arrest in 2016.

Halabi, a 43-year-old father of five from Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip has obtained a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering. He was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate from an academic institution in Germany for his humanitarian work.

He was arrested while traveling through the Beit Hanoun crossing in the northern Gaza Strip on June 15, 2016. He is currently being held in Israel’s Rimon prison in very difficult living conditions.

Al-Halabi was subjected to brutal investigation and physical abuse for over 50 days by Israeli investigators and Special Forces.

His health has deteriorated significantly since his arrest. He currently suffers from extreme headaches and a significant hearing loss due to a systematic policy of medical negligence committed by the prison authorities against Palestinian prisoners.

The Palestine Detainees Studies Center said around 60% of the Palestinian prisoners detained in Israeli jails, suffer from chronic diseases, a number of whom died in detention or after being released due to the severity of their cases caused by a deliberate medical negligence policy.

Source : Safa