Israeli prison guards forced Palestinian prisoners to erase “Jerusalem is Arab” slogans, sparking outrage and highlighting the stark contrast in treatment between Palestinian and Israeli detainees.
Israel’s recently resigned National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, posted a video showing Israeli Negev prison guards raiding Palestinian prisoners’ cells, forcing them at gunpoint to kneel and paint over the walls.
Ben-Gvir wrote on his X account:
“In Ktsiyot Prison (Negev), it was found that in the security sections, there were markings on many of the prison walls bearing phrases such as ‘We will not forget, we will not forgive, we will not kneel, Jerusalem is Arab.’ Under the direction of the prison commander, Menachem Bibas, the prison forces raided the cells, forced them (Palestinian prisoners-PC) to kneel, and painted over the walls.”
The Palestinian prisoners had written phrases like “We will not forgive… We will not forget… We will not kneel” on the walls of the prison before being released as part of the seventh batch of the prisoner exchange deal between the Gaza resistance and the Israeli occupation.
Israel, however, had canceled the release of the Palestinian detainees, forcing hundreds of imprisoned activists back to their cells, as their families waited for their arrival in various parts of the West Bank and Gaza.
גאה בשב”ס!
בבית הסוהר ‘קציעות’ עלה כי באגפים ביטחוניים על מספר קירות תאים נרשמו כתובות הסתה.
בהן:
״לא נשכח, לא נסלח, לא נרד על הברכיים״
״ירושלים היא ערבייה״בהנחיית מפקד בית הסוהר, תג”ד מנחם ביבס, כוחות כת”ר ולוחמי כליאה פרצו לתאים, והכריחו אותם לרדת על הברכיים ולצבוע את הקיר. pic.twitter.com/qLgS4NKCYt
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) February 24, 2025
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the prisoners wrote these phrases in response to a slogan forced onto the Palestinian prisoners released in the sixth batch from Ofer prison.
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority (KAN) had previously published images of the prisoners wearing white shirts printed with the Star of David and the Israeli Prison Service logo, along with the phrase “We do not forget, we do not forgive” on both sides.
After being forced to wear these shirts, the Israeli prison service took photographs of the prisoners in humiliating conditions. The prisoners were forced to kneel and bow their heads. Other photos were taken in the yard of one of the Israeli prisons, where the prisoners were seen lining up surrounded by barbed wire.
Ceasefire Standoff: Israel Links Prisoner Release to New Conditions
Once released, the Palestinian prisoners immediately set fire to the clothes as a sign of defiance.
Meanwhile, a sense of outrage was felt among Palestinians, especially as they compared the Israeli treatment of their detainees to the general treatment of Israeli detainees held by the Gaza resistance.
(AJA, PC)
