JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — On the 13th anniversary of his detention by Israeli forces, Palestinian prisoner Maslama Thabet has obtained his Master’s degree in Israeli Studies from the al-Quds Open University in Abu Dis.

The Thabet family congratulated Maslama and thanked the jailed Fatah senior leader Marwan Barghouthi for supervising his Master’s thesis.

Maslama dedicated the accomplishment to his mother’s soul who passed away in Sept. 2014 without having any chance to visit her son in jail.

Palestinian prisoners often engage in educational activity while being held in Israeli jails, especially those behind bars for prolonged periods of time.

Frequent Israeli targeting of political figures, activists, and educators for arrest often results in high concentrations of educated and politically motivated prisoners in Israeli jails, according to director of the Palestinian Prisoners Society’s Ramallah branch, Abd Ala’al Al’anani.

Al’anani added that such educational activity within jails often prepares Palestinian prisoner’s for life after they are released, the majority of Palestinians in positions of power today having served long sentences in Israeli jails or faced repeated arrests.

Thabet was arrested by Israeli forces on April 6, 2002 during the height of the Second Intifada, and he was sentenced to 25 years of prison by authorities.

He was convicted for his role in killing two Israelis in revenge for the assassination of his uncle, a dentist and health official, by the Israeli military.

http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=760363