MOFA Calls on International Community to Exert Pressure to Free Palestinian Prisoners from Occupation Jails

April 17, 2023

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Day coincides this year with an apparent surge in the number of Palestinian prisoners in occupation jails, which are characterized by harsh detention conditions. The occupation state still holds about 4,900 prisoners, including 31 women, 160 children under the age of 18, and 1,000 administrative prisoners, including 6 children and two women. Moreover, 700 prisoners suffer from various diseases, including 24 prisoners diagnosed with cancer. The occupation state also holds 35 prisoners in solitary confinement, in addition to the bodies of 12 prisoners who passed away behind bars.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Gaza states that the detention of these prisoners contradicts the most basic principles of human rights that refuse the degrading of human dignity, as these prisoners suffer from extremely harsh conditions, including collective punishment, assault, denial of family visit, torture in interrogation centers, denial of meeting with lawyers, long detention in interrogation centers, solitary confinement, interrogation of wounded inside hospitals, and deliberate medical negligence. It is also worth noting that the occupation’s Minister of National Security “Itamar Ben Gvir” strives to approve the capital punishment of some Palestinian prisoners.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also calls on all human rights organizations, the international community, the Arab League as well as the free people of the world to take a clear stance on the criminal practices of the “Israeli” occupation towards Palestinian prisoners, which represent a stark violation of the International Law, most notably the four Geneva Conventions. We also demand that they exert more pressure on the occupation in order to free the Palestinian prisoners from its jails.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

                                                                    Gaza – Palestine