Palestinians risk several years in prison. Why? They had an online meeting with Israelis.

ISTANBUL (Aftenposten): The purpose was to create peace. Now they are accused of “weakening the spirit of revolution.”

It was a group of young people from Gaza who took the initiative for the video call, which they called “Skype with the enemy.”

For a few hours, the young people of Gaza talked about life during the Israeli-Egyptian blockade. Young people from various parts of the world participated, including Israel.

Pure treason, said the militant Palestinian group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. Therefore, they threw the eight Palestinian youths in jail.

Hamas: a betrayal of our people

The online meeting took place in April and since then five of the prisoners have been released. But the charges remain against three of them. Two have been jailed since April. The third, a woman, was released on bail in June.

They were initially charged with what can be called espionage. Then it was said that the young men with their online meeting recruited for the enemy.

Iyad al-Bozm, a spokesman for the Hamas-led Interior Ministry, wrote on Facebook that any communication with Israel was a crime and “a betrayal of our people and their victims.”

Only a select few people in Gaza are allowed to speak to or avoid the Israelis. This applies to businessmen and political leaders, as well as to people who become ill and need treatment in Israel.

Arrested in a military court

On Thursday it was announced that the Hamas government indicted the three and will take them to a military court. Now the prosecution has changed a bit. Now his crime is to have weakened the spirit of revolution.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights defends the youth. From there, they are required to be released as soon as possible and all charges dropped.

International human rights organizations are also reacting strongly. Amnesty has protested, as has Human Rights Watch.

“This case is part of a pattern in which Hamas arbitrarily arrests peace activists,” said Omar Shakir. He is the director of Human Rights Watch in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

Activists were asked to become politicians

The group of activists for peace in Gaza is led by Rami Aman. He founded the Youth Committee in Gaza and has stated that the purpose of the organization is to build a new generation of leaders who truly believe in peace. He urged the Israelis to do the same.

– Be active, people. Get elected to the Knesset, become a minister, Aman said.

The Knesset is the Israeli parliament.

Rami Aman was one of the jailed peace activists after the Skype meeting. A member of Aman’s family, with whom the New York Times has spoken, says that he lives in prison in very difficult conditions.

– He is in a very bad situation, says the person in question, and says that conditions have worsened. He has lost weight and shows signs of depression, says the relative, who will remain anonymous.