What fate awaits the rearrested Palestinian prisoners?

Lawyers say prisoners likely to face additional years on their initial sentences as well as harsh punitive measures.

Occupied East Jerusalem – The four Palestinian prisoners who were rearrested after breaking out of an Israeli prison last week are likely to face additional years on their initial sentences as well as harsh punitive measures, according to lawyers. The four prisoners appeared separately on Saturday before the Israeli Magistrate Court in Nazareth, which agreed to extend their detention until September 19 to “complete the investigation”, according to a statement from the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Commission of Detainees Affairs. Israeli authorities announced the rearrest of Mahmoud Abdullah Ardah, 46, and Yaqoub Mahmoud Qadri, 49, on the southern outskirts of Nazareth city late on Friday. Zakaria Zubeidi, 46 and Mohammad Ardah, 39, were arrested nearby early on Saturday, in the Palestinian village of Shibli-Umm al Ghanam.