This year, Palestinian Prisoner’s Day arrives as the prisoner movement faces its most dangerous historical juncture. Israeli prisons and detention camps have been transformed into sites where policies classified as genocide are practiced. Violations have escalated to the level of legislating willful killing through racist laws.
The Palestinian Association for Human Rights (witness) monitors with extreme concern the deteriorating humanitarian conditions within these facilities, noting the following:
-
Administrative Detention: The occupation’s expanded use of administrative detention without charge as a tool for collective punishment.
-
Legislative Executions: Legislation passed by the Knesset that legitimizes the execution of prisoners, representing a flagrant violation of the right to life and international charters.
-
Systematic Abuse: Documented harrowing testimonies regarding physical and psychological torture, the denial of visitation rights, and the policy of starvation practiced against thousands of detainees.
The Palestinian Association for Human Rights (witness) calls upon the international community to fulfill its legal and ethical responsibilities, and demands the following:
-
Restoration of ICRC Mandate: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) must restore its active role and exert pressure to grant medical and human rights teams immediate access to prisons and detention camps.
-
ICC Prosecution: The International Criminal Court (ICC) must accelerate investigations into crimes committed against Palestinian prisoners and issue arrest warrants for officials responsible for policies of torture and medical negligence.
-
Activation of Geneva Conventions: State parties to the Geneva Conventions must invoke Article 1, which mandates that states ensure respect for the Convention under all circumstances, and must pressure the occupation to halt the crime of "enforced disappearance" regarding detainees from Gaza.
Palestinian Association for Human Rights (witness)