Terrorist occupation regime has issued 50,000 administrative detention orders against Palestinians: Report
The Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs says Israel has issued some 50,000 orders for the so-called administrative detention against Palestinians since 1967, when the regime occupied Palestinian territories.
The Committee said on Monday that the number of administrative detention orders has increased sharply since 2002, adding 427 Palestinians are currently being held in jails under this mechanism.
Administrative detention is a sort of imprisonment without trial or charge that allows Israel to incarcerate Palestinians for up to six months. The detention order can be renewed for indefinite periods of time.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Center for Studies (PPCS) has called on human rights and international bodies to pressure Israel to abide by the provisions of the Geneva Conventions and respect the rights of Palestinian prisoners.
PPCS chief Raafat Hamdouneh said in a statement that Palestinian prisoners are facing difficult conditions and warned of the highly explosive situation in light of the daily abuses committed against them by Israeli forces.
According to Hamdouneh, nearly 6,500 Palestinian prisoners are being kept in intolerable situations, where visits are prohibited, books and education are banned, the food is poor and their health is neglected.
Gaza marks Prisoners’ Day
April 17 marks the Prisoners Day across the occupied Palestinian territories. On this occasion, Palestinians show their support for inmates in Israeli jails.
In a statement on Monday, Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee, said, “As we continue to pay tribute to and affirm our support of all former and current Palestinian prisoners within Israeli jails, we are reminded of their steadfastness and unbreakable commitment to independence and justice in the face of the belligerent military occupier’s willful breach and devaluation of their rights and lives.”
Also on Sunday, dozens of wheelchair users participated in a race dubbed “Marathon 1,500” in Gaza City to show solidarity with sick or wounded Palestinians in prison, according to the Palestinian Information Center.
In recent weeks, Israel has been violently cracking down on peaceful mass demonstrations in Gaza against the regime’s occupation. Over 30 Palestinians have been killed during this time.
The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli siege since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in the standards of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and poverty.
