Thursday, 31^st August 2023

In line with the policies of its extermist government, the Israeli occupation prison authorities deliberately abuse Palestinian detainees, the latest came early on Thursday morning, August 17, when the repression units stormed the Negev prison, and assaulted the detainees in Section "3" amid a state of extreme tension.

Further, the units emptied the section suddenly humiliating the detainees by forcing them to the ground and handcuffing their hands from behind, and scattering their belongings, then arbitrarily transferring some to other prisons. This caused the detainees to lose their belongings  and severely affected them psychologically. The prison repression units did not stop there as the same operation was carried out in Section 4 of the same prison.

It should be noted that the so-called Minister of National Security, "Itamar Ben Gvir" visited the Negev prison days before the crackdown, during which he issued instructions to tighten the detention conditions of prisoners, violating the provisions of the Geneva Convention that protect the rights of our detainees, and guarantee them a humane life without violating their dignity or practicing physical violence.

As a result of this serious violation, nearly 1,000 Palestinian detainees from all occupation prisons launched an open hunger strike to protest the recent repressive practices, to draw attention to the humanitarian and legal issues they suffer from, and to highlight the grave abuses committed against them.

These protests inside Israeli prisons, and the support of the Palestinian people through mass set-ins and an escalation of the tone of opposition to repressive practices, resulted in the administration of the Prison Service scaling down its repressive measures, and reaching an agreement with the detainees, followed by the suspension of the protest steps on the evening of Friday, August 18.

Nevertheless, the detainees' suffering continues and is renewed. In the latest statistics, there are 5,100 Palestinian detainees in "Israeli" prisons, 558 of whom are sentenced to life. The Israeli occupation detains 33 women and 165 children, and 700 sick prisoners who need special medical care, and 432 detainees who spent more than 20 years, in addition to 1,200 detainees languishing in detention without charge in what the occupation calls "administrative detention."

Two prisoners died in captivity since the beginning of this year as evidence of the policy of medical negligence pursued by the Israeli Prison Service, which led to the death of 237 prisoners during the lifetime of the Palestinian cause. Israeli authorities are holding the bodies of 13 of them, the most senior was "Anis Doula" who died in Ashkelon prison in 1980, and the last was Khader Adnan, died in May 2023 after 86 days of hunger strike in protest of his administrative detention and as a result of medical negligence.

Therefore, defending the issue of Palestinian detainees, and the repeated violations they are subjected to, constitutes a national consensus from the various segments and levels of the Palestinian people, which may lead to the deterioration of the situation on the ground as a result of these continuous violations.

In this regard, and in light of what Palestinian detainees have been subjected to in the prisons of the Israeli settler-colonial  extermist government, we affirm the following:

• The importance of adopting a strong and clear political stance towards the issue of detainees, stressing that the Palestinian detainees are considered prisoners of freedom and that they must be released immediately.
• Emphasis on preserving their rights and dignity, and activating tools of pressure on the international community to play a decisive role in stopping the Israeli violations.
• Exerting the necessary pressure on the occupation’s government to stop its measures and policies that violate the rights of our detainees, which are guaranteed to them under international laws and agreements.

Supporting and carrying out action in favor of the issue of Palestinian detainees is consistent with the international justice and human rights, and contributes to showing solidarity with the Palestinian people and supporting them in facing the challenges and difficulties that they are subjected to daily.

Finally, these extremist practices led by Netanyahu and his terrorist government must stop, and their continuation will inevitably lead to an explosive situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. All concerned parties must urgently intervene to stop the serious escalation against our people and our heroic detainees in the occupation prisons.

Department of Politics and Foreign Relations

The Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas

Gaza - Palestine