West Bank Protests Over Palestinians Held In Israeli Prisons

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank rallied Wednesday calling for the release of prisoners held by Israel without charge and for families to again be able to visit their incarcerated loved ones

Ramallah, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Apr, 2024) Palestinians in the occupied West Bank rallied Wednesday calling for the release of prisoners held by Israel without charge and for families to again be able to visit their incarcerated loved ones.

Relatives have been denied access to visit prisoners since October 7, when an attack out of the Gaza Strip by Palestinian militant group Hamas triggered war with Israel.

In the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, demonstrations were held to mark Palestinian Prisoners' Day in cities including Ramallah, Hebron, Jericho and Nablus.

The marches are held every April 17, but this year took on added significance because thousands more people have been arrested in recent months against the backdrop of the brutal war in Gaza, separated from the West Bank by Israeli territory.

Yet in Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority, fewer than 200 protesters gathered on Wednesday, some carrying images of imprisoned family members, an AFP journalist said.

"The issue of Palestinian prisoners is on everyone's mind and in everyone's heart -- it should be a shared cause for all," said Shawan Jabarin, head of rights group Al-Haq.

The organisers of the rally blamed the low turnout on political divisions in Palestinian society.

"I don't want to be a pawn by taking part in this kind of thing," a young man told AFP without giving his name.

Others feared they could be arrested by Israeli forces or face repercussions for attending the rally.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy group, the number of Palestinian detainees and prisoners has risen to over 9,000, compared to 5,200 before October 7.

In the wake of the Hamas attack more than six months ago, Israeli authorities announced a state of emergency in the prison system, which led to stricter detention conditions and the end of family visits.

- Jailed without charge -

The Palestinian Prisoners Club said more than 1,000 inmates are being held in what is known as "administrative detention", which allows for suspects to be held without charge or trial for renewable periods of up to six months.

"For two and a half years, we haven't seen his face, we have not been able to visit him," Umm Fadi Hamad said of her son, a young man who she said had been detained on and off for 12 years.

"Fadi has never seen his youngest son," she told AFP.

Israel, which primarily uses the measure against Palestinians, says administrative detention is aimed at preventing security offences while authorities continue to gather evidence. Rights groups have criticised Israel for abusing the measure.

Amnesty International said on Wednesday that "among those languishing behind bars are doctors from occupied Gaza who have been seized from hospitals after refusing to abandon their patients".

Also imprisoned are "human rights lawyers, Palestinian citizens of Israel, journalists documenting Israeli violations and students protesting the war," Amnesty added in a post on X.

At least 16 inmates have died in Israeli prisons since October 7, according to the Prisoners Club. The club accuses Israel of abusing and mistreating Palestinians behind bars, which prison authorities deny.

The group's head, Qadura Fares, said it had learned of "terrible news about what is going inside the prisons from the very mouths of the prisoners" who were released during a brief truce between Israel and Hamas.

The seven-day ceasefire in late November led to the release of around 100 of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, most of them in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Negotiations to strike a new ceasefire deal that could see more hostages and prisoners freed have faltered since.

The Hamas attack resulted in the death of around 1,170 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

At least 33,899 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel's retaliatory offensive, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

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