Press Release
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This morning, Monday, November 29, 2021, the Unit of Studies and Research at the Forum for Development and Human Rights Dialogue issued a report entitled: (The Sufferance of Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Prisons), on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
The report emphasized that the sufferance of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons is a small part of the suffering with which the Palestinian people face. Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons live a bitter reality and arbitrary provisions that limit their freedoms, and the length of the sentence has caused them to deteriorate their health condition due to the torture and cruel treatment they are subjected to and the services provided to them by the Israeli prison administration, which contravene the principles of human rights.
The report addressed a number of themes, most notably:
First: The Evolution of Violations against the Palestinian People in 2021
The report explained that the failure to settle the Palestinian issue and the lack of international political and diplomatic options have caused many problems and crises that the Palestinian people are still suffering from since 1948. Israel continues to impose fait accompli policies on the Palestinian people, who were unable to stop the expansionist and settlement encroachment on the Palestinian lands in Area C, in light of the public allusion from the Israeli Minister of Defense, Benny Gantz, to annex the Jordan Valley to Israeli sovereignty for security considerations, without regard to the private property rights of its Palestinian owners.
In East Jerusalem, Israel is arranging to Judaize the city and transform its historical features into a Zionist character through the forced displacement of the Palestinian population from their homes and transfer the ownership to extremist settlers. The return of missile war skirmishes to and from the Gaza Strip led to a significant number of civilian deaths and injuries, and the complete deterioration of the infrastructure in the areas that were subjected to Israeli bombardment, which puts them in the charge of war crimes. This is also a violation of the right to development and the right to life.
Israel also exploits technological superiority, and shuts down many Palestinian news sites and sites. Not only that, The Palestinians face a challenge from the social networking site “Facebook” by deleting any content related to the Palestinian cause or historical Palestine, which shows a great bias against the freedom of expression of the opinion.
Second: The Status of Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Prisons
The report emphasized that not only does the Israeli occupation violate all the rules of international humanitarian law stipulated in the four Geneva Conventions in the treatment of Palestinian prisoners, but also uses inhumane methods during their arrest, as they are subjected to beatings, abuse and insults, by attacking their homes at night or when skirmishes occur between Palestinians or the Israeli army in the occupied territories.
The report stated that the use of the “Blue Wolf” application to arrest the prisoners violates the privacy of the Palestinian person, as soldiers competed last year in photographing Palestinians, including children and the elderly, with prizes for the largest number of photos collected by each unit.
The Palestinians are deprived of all the rights guaranteed by international laws in the treatment of prisoners, as the prisoners are prevented from meeting lawyers and family, and from personal visits, due to the spread of the Covid-19 virus, especially the prisoners of the Gaza Strip, while at the same time they do not receive health care that immunizes them from the epidemic. The sexual abuse of children and women in Israeli prisons and the spread of daily torture are not far from brutal practices, as apartheid is implanted inside prisons as well.
The hunger strike, is the weapon that the prisoners resort to in case of increased abuse and a large period of detention that does not fit the crime, and in most cases they are subjected to administrative detention without any punishment. In Israeli prisons and detention centers. In the event of an open mass strike, the prisoners are subjected to harsh punitive measures that may amount to the threat of extending the period of detention.
Palestinian prisoners who are administratively detained are presented to the military courts, which issue high and arbitrary sentences against them without limit, to confirm the extent of their violation of the guarantees of fair trials, as the prisoner does not know the nature of the charges against him, as the detainee is thrown into prisons claiming the existence of a secret file that he and the defense cannot access, and therefore It is a breach of the right to defense. Although Israel signed the Convention Against Torture more than 30 years ago, the judges of these courts cover up the crimes of torture, by extending the period of detention for those subjected to torture crimes despite the presence of physical signs, or closing the detainee’s claim that he was tortured by the security services.
The report emphasized that psychological torture methods were developed, such as shaking, sleep deprivation, loud music, isolation for long periods, and other horrific physical and psychological methods practiced by the occupation investigators to extract confessions from the Palestinian detainees. investigation period.
In the same context, security personnel detain children, women and the elderly without any considerations of privacy and human rights agreements. The Israeli authorities deprive the captured children of their freedoms and treat them as a project of saboteurs. They are tortured and treated cruelly and humiliatingly, including beatings, ghosting, deprivation of sleep and food, threats, insults, sexual harassment, deprivation of visits, and the use of the most horrific psychological and physical means; to extract confessions and pressure them.
Palestinian female prisoners, since the moment of their arrest at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces, have been subjected to beatings, humiliation, and insults. The harassment of them escalates once they reach the interrogation centers; Where all methods of pressure are exercised against them, whether psychological or physical. In the case of a pregnant captive, when the time comes for her to give birth, the prison authorities chain her legs and hands while she is in labour, to be taken to the hospital; There, her suffering is exacerbated when she is tied to her birth bed, without allowing her husband and family members to come and stand by her side; Not untied, but the moment of her birth.
Third: Prisoner Figures and Statistics in 2021
This topic dealt with the monitoring of the numbers of detainees since the beginning of this year, and according to the data, until the end of October, 4,650 prisoners are held in the Israeli occupation prisons, including (34) female prisoners, (160) minors, and about (500) administrative detainees are distributed among About 12 prisons, and about 20 interrogation centers. It is worth noting that the severity of arrests among children is increasing day after day, and Jerusalemites are also subjected to fierce campaigns of arbitrary arrests, especially when standing in front of the incursions of Al-Aqsa Mosque squares by settlers, or when they are forcibly displaced from their homes.
Finally, the report recommended increasing international pressure on the Israeli authorities to stop their aggressive approach against the Palestinian people, to comply with and respect human rights agreements, to stop military trials against civilians, and to release prisoners detained without real charges.
