5200 Palestinian Detainees Currently Held By Israel
October
14, 2013 by Saed Bannoura -
IMEMC News
(International
Middle East Media Centre)
The Palestinian Ministry Of Detainees issued a press release revealing that Israel is currently holding captive 5200 Palestinians in 17 prisons, detention camps, and interrogation facilities.
It said that this year witnessed a sharp escalation in arrests as the
soldiers kidnapped 2450 Palestinians, including 476 children and 49
women since the beginning of the year.
It said that the army kidnapped at least 600 Palestinian security and
police officers, and that the number of Hamas affiliated detainees is
1100, and 365 detainees who are members of the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), while the rest are members of different
factions.
The Ministry stated that Israel is currently holding captive 13
democratically elected legislators, and that the Israeli military
kidnapped a total of 60 legislators and ministers (%46 of the members of
the Palestinian Legislative Council). Among the detained legislators are
Marwan Barghouthi, Ahmad Saadat and Hassan Yousef.
Furthermore, the illegitimate Israeli policy of Administrative Detention
without charges
remains a systematic Israeli strategy despite repeated and extended
hunger strikes by Administrative Detainees held under those arbitrary
orders under “secret files” that neither the detainees nor their lawyers
have no access to.
There are currently 150 Palestinians held under arbitrary Administrative
Detention orders, while 23.000 Palestinians have been held under these
orders since the year 2000.
Currently, detainee Akram Al-Faseesy, from Ithna town, near the southern
West Bank city of Hebron, is ongoing with his hunger strike that started
on September 29 2013.
Palestinian detainees held under Administrative Detention orders started
on October 10 a series of protests against their illegal detention, this
includes returning meals, boycotting Israeli military courts, and a
number of open-ended hungers strikes.
As for children and women currently held by Israel, the Ministry said
that there are 250 children and 13 women who are still imprisoned, and
that Israel soldiers kidnapped approximately 9500 children since the
year 2000.
There are 520 Palestinian detainees who are serving a minimum of one
life term; this includes detainee Abdullah Barghouthi who was sentenced
to 67 life-terms and additional 250 years. He was taken prisoner on
March 5 2003.
The number of detainees who have been imprisoned since before the
establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994 is 78 detainees, 68
of them have been imprisoned since more than 20 years, and 24 have been
imprisoned since more than 25 years.
In its report, the Ministry said that Israel is ongoing with its
illegitimate policy of depriving the ailing detainees from the urgently
needed and specialized medical care, especially since there are
currently 1400 sick detainees, including 25 suffering with different
types of cancer.
Dozens of detainees have been shot and injured, suffering from various
conditions including paralysis, and detainees who suffer from heart,
kidneys and liver conditions, while others suffer from diabetes, eye
diseases and conditions, Tuberculosis, in addition to other conditions.
The Ministry further stated that there are a number of detainees who are
dying and are not receiving the needed extensive and specialized medical
attention.
The oldest detainee held by Israel is Fuad Shobaky, 83 years of age,
followed by Omar Akkawy, 64. The number of detainees who died in prison,
either due to torture, or due to being shot by the soldiers during and
after their arrest currently stands at 204.
The latest casualties among the detainees are Maisara Abu Hamdiyya, 63,
who died on April 2nd 2013, and Arafat Jaradat, 20, who died on February
22 2013.
Abu Hamdiyya suffered a fourth stage Carcinoma in his lung lymphatic,
liver and spine, throat cancer extending to his vocal cords, and brain
tumor.
Despite the seriousness of his condition, the Israeli Prison
Administration did not grant Abu Hamdiyya the needed specialized and
urgent medical treatment, until it was too late.
Detainee Arafat Jaradat, died at the Mejeddo Israeli prison, seven days
after his arrest, he was a healthy young man from Sa’ir town in Hebron,
and was tortured to death by Israeli interrogators.
The Ministry said that the detainees are suffering from abuse and
various violations and attacks carried out against them, especially
since Israel violated an agreement reached with the detainees in May of
last year following an extended hunger strike.
Seventeen of the detainees who were released under the Shalit prisoner
swap agreement have been rearrested and imprisoned; three of the
released detainees are still not allowed back home, while dozens of
detainees are still held in solitary confinement in violation of the
swap agreement.
Other violations include denying the detainees the right to education,
provocative searches, including strip search of the detainees and their
visiting families, collective punishment, medical negligence, and
denying the ailing detainees the right to healthy meals that include
dietary restrictions