Political sources in Tel Aviv have revealed that the Palestinian captives whom Israel proposed to release in a deal with ‘Hamas’ were infiltrators who crossed through the border to find work or to conduct stabbing operations.
Israel’s Defence Minister Naftali Bennett was behind this idea and has already started working on preparing the grounds for it, the sources added -- he informed security officials that he wanted to treat Palestinians who cross through the Gaza Strip perimeter fence as 'illegal combatants', and thereby increase the number of Gazans incarcerated in Israel.
Further, this move means that such Palestinians can be detained without charge “indefinitely”.
The sources added that “Bennett seeks to use them in the event of future negotiations over the return of Israeli prisoners or dead soldiers.”
This law was passed by the Knesset in 2002 and it stipulates that “An illegal combatant in Israeli law is defined as a person who participates in hostile acts against the state, directly or indirectly, or as a person who identifies with a unit committing hostile acts, one that is not affiliated with any state or organization.”
However, legal experts stated that “International law ceased recognizing laws pertaining to so-called illegal combatants, based on the view that there is no third category beyond that of combatants or prisoners of war.
When civilians engage in combat, they must be charged under the criminal laws of the country holding them, and thus detention without charges in such circumstances will be monitored under international law," they added.
Further, the Supreme Court of Israel has postponed – for the third time – looking into an appeal submitted by 31 captives from Hamas who were released in Shalit deal then rearrested gradually since 2014.
The next date was set at the end of March, knowing data provided by the Palestinian Society Prisoner's Club in Ramallah reported that they were 70 captives.
