Palestinians burn shirts after release from Israeli jails

On Saturday, 369 Palestinians were released in exchange for three captives in Gaza following days of tense negotiations.

Before the exchange, the Israel Prison Service released photos of a few of the Palestinians dressed in those provocative shirts. As the Palestinians were being returned, a number of them wore their shirts inside out in order to cover the messages.

Footage shot in Gaza by Al Jazeera showed a few Palestinians setting fire to the shirts upon their arrival at the European Gaza Hospital in Gaza’s Khan Younis.

“We condemn the occupation’s crime of placing racist slogans on the backs of our heroic prisoners, and treating them with cruelty and violence, in a blatant violation of humanitarian laws and norms,” Hamas said in a statement.

It added that this is “in contrast to the resistance’s firm commitment to moral values ​​in treating the occupation’s prisoners”.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group also condemned the shirts as a “racist crime”.

According to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, quoting an Israeli source, there was criticism in Israel over the uniforms as well. A source was quoted as saying that Israel’s political echelon was not informed of the move.

The decision to have the Palestinians don the shirts was made by Israel’s Prison Commissioner Kobi Yaacobi, the source told the broadcaster.

Mohamad Elmasry, a professor in the media studies programme at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera that this was “another method” under which Israel intends to “dehumanise” Palestinians.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is facilitating the exchange, called on all parties for more “dignified” releases.

“Despite repeatedly calling for all transfers to be carried out in a dignified and private manner, more must be done by all sides, including the mediators, to improve future transfers,” the ICRC said in a statement on Saturday.

The furore surrounding the provocative shirts underscores a long policy of “humiliation”, according to Xavier Abu Eid, a political analyst speaking to Al Jazeera from Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.

“We’ve been analysing throughout these past weeks the humiliation of Palestinian prisoners,” Abu Eid said. He noted this was “nothing new” but not only damaged the prisoners but also their families.

A total of 24 captives and 985 Palestinians have been released since the ceasefire began in January, according to the ICRC.