Palestinian Political Prisoners

Free All Palestinian Political Prisoners!

On August 28th, 2004, hundreds of Palestinian political prisoners broke their hunger strike after Israel decided to discuss some of their demands, eventually agreeing to some of them. Since the end of the hunger strike the world has moved on, once again ignoring the suffering of thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Ignorance of the plight of Palestinians not only allows the number of political prisoners to increase with every Israeli incursion into the occupied territories, but also allows the conditions in which they are held to continue to deteriorate.

The massive Israeli military operation against the Palestinian Intifada, which began in September of 2000, has resulted in the killing of more than 3,000 Palestinians, most of whom were civilians, women and children. Countless tens of thousands more have been injured. But in the midst of all the bloodshed, the statistic that often gets lost or forgotten is the number of Palestinian civilians that get swooped up in raids and end up spending desolate months or years in Israeli prisons and detention centers.

While it is often said that the entire Palestinian population is being held prisoner, human rights groups report that there are currently about 7,500 being held in inhumane conditions within the physical confines of Israeli prisons. Over 750 of these are administrative detainees, held without charge or trial for indefinite periods of time. Three hundred and eighty of the political prisoners are aged 18 and under, 78 of whom are 16 years old and under. There are 106 Palestinian female political prisoners, 20 of whom are mothers and 2 of whom have given birth while in prison, with their children remaining in captivity with them. Of the total 7,500 political prisoners, 3,800 are being held in civil prisons, with the remaining in Israeli military detention centers and prison camps.

The hunger strike ended when the Israeli authorities agreed to some of the prisoners’ demands, which represented only the most basic rights any prisoner – political or not – should receive. The end to treatment such as arbitrary and indiscriminate use of torture, firing of tear gas into prisoners’ cells and prison courtyards, humiliating strip searches in full view of other prisoners and guards each time they enter or exit their cells, solitary confinement for months and even years, confining women and children with adult male prisoners, withholding or delaying medication and treatment to sick detainees, and maintaining prisoners on near starvation diets that are insufficient to sustain health, are all required by international law, and not just random demands.
Only with the continued intense spotlight of the international community, will the Israeli government follow through on granting these basic rights.

These demands are basic and needed, but should also include the call for ending administrative detention (which B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights organization, reports as making “a charade out of the entire system of procedural safeguards in both domestic and international law regarding the right to liberty and due process”), the ongoing use of torture (numerous human rights organizations have documented that, despite a 1999 ruling by the Israeli High Court of Justice against the practice, the use of torture in Israel is still widespread), and the incarceration of women and children without adequate medical and humane treatment (women and children are often held in the same prisons, and even the same cells, as adult males, and receive the same poor medical and health care).

Every American concerned about human rights – regardless of their views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - should be outraged by the condition of Palestinians held in prison by Israeli authorities. By the silence of the U.S. government, it is providing tacit support for the practices of administrative detention, the use of torture against Palestinians, and the imprisonment of women and children by the Israeli Government. The U.S. is responsible for much in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially since over 4 billion dollars in U.S. tax dollars are sent to Israel annually. So it must insure that Palestinian political prisoners are treated humanely by Israel, and ultimately released.

As you read about the violence and casualties inflicted by the Israelis in Palestine, also think about the thousands of additional Palestinian men, women and children being held in Israeli jails as political prisoners and the conditions under which they suffer.

Links

ADDAMEER - addameer.org
Palestinian non-governmental civil institution that focuses on human rights issues for political prisoners.

Sumoud - sumoud.tao.ca
A Political Prisoner Solidarity Group