Palestinian children want their fathers, brothers freed from jails

The children, in their teens and less, wearing green caps and headbands marked with the slogan, "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is His prophet," waved large Hamas flags.

Some also carried handwritten cardboard signs in Arabic and English.

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source

"Father, I am waiting for you", "Oh world, help Palestinian prisoners", "I want my dad", and "With tens of thousands of prisoners in Israeli jails, where is peace?" they read.

Other children carried framed photographs of their jailed brothers or fathers, mostly Hamas militants, as small groups brandished a poster of 14 top Hamas militants detained by Israel.

Rights organizations estimate Israel currently detains about 6,000 Palestinians, most of them arrested since the September 2000 start of the intifada, or uprising.

Israel agreed last week to free 350 prisoners but ruled out the release of militants belonging to Hamas or its smaller rival Islamic Jihad.

Palestinian minister for prisoners affairs Hisham Abdelrazeq said Monday that Israel and the Palestinians had reached a stalemate over the release of prisoners and international intervention was needed to resolve the issue.

Yehia Daas, 12, said his father was serving a five-year sentence in Israel for his activities in Hamas.

"I have seen him once in five years, we can only go every six months and the journey to Israel is very difficult with the closure," he said.