"Your framing of the hostage-prisoner/detainee exchange fails to highlight the asymmetry of releasing 33 Israeli hostages versus 2,000 Palestinian detainees, while also neglecting critical context on Israel’s use of administrative detention which allows Israel to imprison Palestinians indefinitely without charge or trial."
February 26, 2025
To the Toronto Star Newsroom,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East regarding your article, titled: “Israel and Hamas agree on new exchange, leaving fragile ceasefire intact” published on Tuesday February 25, 2025.
Your framing of the hostage-prisoner/detainee exchange fails to highlight the asymmetry of releasing 33 Israeli hostages versus 2,000 Palestinian detainees, while also neglecting critical context on Israel’s use of administrative detention which allows Israel to imprison Palestinians indefinitely without charge or trial.
Many Palestinians held in Israeli prisons are not convicted criminals but detainees imprisoned under administrative detention, a system that allows Israel to detain individuals for renewable six-month periods based on undisclosed evidence. Some have been held for years without ever knowing the accusations against them or being granted a fair trial.
This practice violates international law, particularly Article 9(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), a legally binding treaty ratified by Israel in 1991:
Article 9(1): “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedures as are established by law.”
To put this in perspective, Dr. Mohammed Abu Selmia, director of al-Shifa Hospital, was detained for seven months without charge and described relentless beatings, attacks by dogs, starvation, and medical neglect. He testified, as reported by The Guardian:
“I am talking about clubbing, being beaten with rifle butts and being attacked by dogs. There was little to no food, no personal hygiene, no soap inside the cells, no water, no toilet, no toilet paper … I saw people who were dying there … I was beaten so badly I couldn’t use my legs or walk. No day passes without torture.”
He is one of hundreds of healthcare workers detained by Israeli forces since October 2023:
Here as well, the detention of doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers is a grave violation of international law, specifically article 18 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which mandates the protection of medical personnel:
“Civilian hospitals organized to give care to the wounded and sick, the infirm and maternity cases, may in no circumstances be the object of attack, but shall at all times be respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict.”
Despite this, Israel has arrested and abused Palestinians - to the extent that in some cases, detainees have died in these administrative detention cells.
By omitting these facts, your article contributes to the normalization of illegal imprisonment, torture, and human rights abuses.
To reiterate, the exchange is not symmetrical—many Palestinians, including medical professionals, remain arbitrarily detained under tortuous conditions. To ensure fair and accurate reporting, I urge the Toronto Star to:
- Provide context: regarding Israel’s illegal detention, torture, and abuse of Palestinian detainees
- Use precise terminology: many detainees are in fact prisoners held without due process.
Failing to do so normalizes Israel’s human rights abuses towards Palestinians.
Lastly, I have written to the Toronto Star for over a year but have yet to receive a response. I hope this will be an instance where the Star is open to engaging in dialogue with us in the name of balanced and fair reporting.
Warm regards,
Lynn Naji
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East