Pope's message before his departure

Despite the conflicting Israeli statements about the Palestinian resistance's treatment of Israeli prisoners, in the tunnels and homes of Gaza, and the diversity of their content according to their sources, some of them indicated rude, humiliating, and abusive Palestinian treatment, while the opposite indicated respectful, humane treatment that reflects the high standard of treatment accorded to prisoners, despite their being in the camp of the merciless enemy.

A close examination of the statements of the majority of the Israeli prisoners confirmed the good treatment of them by Hamas and its fighters. They were not obligated to praise the behavior of the Palestinians and their high standard of treatment of them. There is no more vivid, clear, or courageous evidence of this than the scene of the Israeli prisoner “kissing” the head of his Palestinian guard. It was a scene and a shot that carried a lot of credibility and spontaneity in a prisoner’s farewell to his accompanying guard. The incident was a shock to the Israelis and to all observers in the world, and dealt a political blow to the components of the Israeli colony.

But even if we accept, for the sake of argument, the accusations made by the colony's leaders regarding Hamas's humiliating behavior toward Israeli prisoners - accusations that Washington has supported without reservation - do the colony's security forces and apparatuses treat Palestinian prisoners with a minimum of respect for human dignity and humanity? Or is it that hatred, racism, extremism, shameful behavior, and moral and legal decline are taking place, without any scruples of conscience or even the minimum level of treatment of prisoners as human beings, or even as criminals who deserve all kinds of beatings, humiliation, and killing?

How many Palestinian prisoners have been killed, lost their memory and health, and left disabled, lacking the ability to lead a normal life, and treated as criminals, not prisoners of war with convictions, a will, and aspirations for dignity and freedom in a homeland that yearns for independence and stability, like all human beings and all peoples. This is what the Palestinian people lack and yearn for, and make sacrifices to obtain. What Palestinian prisoners are subjected to is part of these sacrifices.

His Holiness Pope Francis, who passed away yesterday with Easter, expressed his sympathy and solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to freedom and an independent state. Just hours before his passing, he affirmed his awareness of the extent of the Palestinians’ suffering and pain, saying:

"I am close to the Christian people of the Holy Land, and I am close to both peoples. My thoughts turn to the people of Gaza, especially to the Christian community there, where the terrible conflict continues to generate death and destruction, and to create a horrific and shameful humanitarian situation."

Palestinians in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, in the heart of the Italian capital, Rome, expressed their appreciation for His Holiness the Pope by raising Palestinian flags. They expressed their appreciation for his positions, which express the understanding of the Catholic Church, the heir to Jesus Christ, the first Palestinian martyr, and the bearer of his message, which was born in Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Jerusalem, was baptized in the Jordan River, and spread eastward to the world. With his passing, the Palestinian people lost a friend who believed in the justice of the Palestinians' right to dignity, freedom, and independence.