Palestinian-Italian activist and researcher Khaled el Qaisi has been released from prison a month after being detained by Israeli authorities. The 27-year-old was arrested on August 31 at the Allenby crossing which connects the Occupied West Bank and Jordan.
El Qaisi, who is of Palestinian and Italian heritage and holds dual citizenship, is a student at the Department of Oriental Languages and Civilizations at the Sapienza University in Rome. He works with Giovani Palestinesi d’Italia (Palestinian Youth of Italy) and is also one of the founders of the Centro di Documentazione Palestinese (Palestinian Documentation Center).
El Qaisi was handcuffed and seized by occupation forces while he was making his way to Amman after a family trip to the city of Bethlehem. The Israeli authorities also seized the family’s luggage and mobile phones. El Qaisi’s wife, Francesca Antinucci, was also subjected to questioning before being expelled to Jordan with their son.
Meanwhile, El Qaisi was held in solitary confinement at the notorious Petah Tikwa Detention Center, and subjected to daily interrogations in the absence of a lawyer. His detention was renewed twice in hearings held on September 7 and 14, without any charges being detailed. His brother and two cousins were also arrested by occupation forces, Middle East Eye reported.
In a hearing on September 21, his detention was extended for another 11 days. According to a press release issued by his lawyer, that court had also determined that three days after the latest extension would lapse, that is on October 1, the Israeli investigators would have to file charges against El Qaisi.
Following a hearing on Sunday, the Rishon Lezion court approved his release on a financial bail guarantee paid by his uncle. However, El Qaisi’s passport remains confiscated and he has been banned from traveling outside Palestine.
His arrest had sparked an outpouring of support by progressive and youth groups, activists, and teachers in Italy, who also condemned the lack of acknowledgement and action by the Italian government regarding El Qaisi’s case.
The leftist political party Potere al Popolo had said on September 9 that “Khaled’s story mirrors the reality to which the Palestinian population is subjected under Israeli occupation.”
“The hypocrisy shown to date by Italian authorities and institutions demonstrates the enormous tolerance that, for reasons of economic interest and international politics, is guaranteed by European governments to the State of Israel, which is celebrated arbitrarily as ‘the only democracy in the Middle East,’ while imposing an apartheid regime made of political prisoners, torture, murder and even child trials in military courts,” the Communist Youth Front (FGC) had said in a statement.
A week-long mobilization campaign was also conducted by youth and student groups between September 25 and October 1.
On September 30, a national day of action was held in Italy in solidarity with El Qaisi, with protests held in Rome, Napoli, Cagliari, Trieste, Ancone, Bologna, and L’Aquila, and even in France, as reported by the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.
The demonstrations were organized by progressive groups including Giovani Palestinesi d’Italia, with people gathering outside the buildings of Italian national broadcaster, RAI, to demand media coverage of El Qaisi’s detention. “One of our fellow citizens was kidnapped 30 days [ago] by the Israeli state, without any trial or right to defense. Have you heard the media talk about this matter? [Did] A member of government or opposition utter a word? When it comes to Israel, everyone shuts up,” Potere al Popolo said in a statement on X formerly known as Twitter.
El Qaisi will now be presented before the court on October 8. His family had still not been able to contact him as of October 1, Francesca Antinucci told Pagine Esteri.
As uncertainty remains regarding El Qaisi’s freedom and safety, his family and those campaigning for his release have urged people to remain vigilant.
