RAMALLAH, April 26 (JMCC) - Some 20 Palestinians are being held at the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
says the Israeli newspaper
Haaretz, reporting on documents obtained through the anti-secrecy website Wikileaks.
The
documents indicate the prisoners moved from Gaza or the West Bank to
Jordan, on their way to Saudi Arabia. Some of them moved on from Saudi
Arabia to Yemen and then to Pakistan and Afghanistan in search of work.
At some point they came into contact with al-Qaida operatives who
recruited them and persuaded them to come to Afghanistan, where they
underwent military training.
Some of the prisoners told their American interrogators that they were
afraid of being extradited to Israel and handed over to its security
services. But after they were assured that this would not happen, they
agreed to give details about themselves and even, in some cases,
cooperated.
Nearly 200 prisoners captured in Afghanistan and Iraq have been held at the Guantanamo facility, which US president Barack Obama promised to close.
Congress has opposed efforts to close the detention camp and move the prisoners to facilities in the United States, where they would be tried in civilian courts.