10,500 Palestinians Illegally Kidnapped by Israeli Occupation Forces, Still Kept in Israeli Prisons

10,500 Palestinians Illegally Kidnapped by Israeli Occupation Forces, Still Kept in Israeli Prisons

Editor's Note:

The presence of the Israeli terrorist forces in the Palestinian occupied territories is illegal. These forces have no jurisdiction over the Palestinian people. As a result, all raids to seize Palestinians by these forces are illegal and kidnapping of civilians, not arrests of citizens.

Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are not Israeli citizens, which does not give the Israeli terrorist forces any right to "arrest" them. This is another crime against humanity perpetrated by the Israeli terrorist forces against citizens of another nation.

PPS releases report on Palestinian detainees

Thursday April 16, 2009 01:35 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) issued a detailed report on the Palestinian detainees imprisoned by the Israeli occupation government as the Palestinians prepare for commemorating the Palestinian Prisoners Day on April 17. The report revealed that Israelis are still holding 10,500 Palestinians captive.

Image reprinted from www.qudsmedia.net

The PPS reported that detainee Na-el Al-Barghouthi entered his 33rd year in detention while an additional 11 detainees spent more than 25 years in prison.

The PPS also said that 76 detainees are sentenced to life-terms, 59 female detainees are still imprisoned, and 630 detainees are imprisoned under administrative detention without charges or trial.

Abdullah Al-Zaghari, head of the PPS in Bethlehem said that 1045 Palestinians from the Bethlehem district are imprisoned by Israel, including 320 who were sentenced by Israeli courts. 65 prisoners are under administrative detention whilst 5 female detainees and 651 male detainees are still awaiting trial.

Al-Zaghari- added that Israel increased its violations and restrictions against the detainees after prisoner-swap talks failed to achieve a deal, placing dozens of detainees in solitary confinement in addition to imposing high fines on dozens of detainees.

Israel also barred the detainees from their visitations rights as punishment after prisoner-swap talks failed.

Other violations against the detainees include denying basic medical rights to sick and wounded detainees as well as regular ransacking of their cells.

The PPS also reported that Israel is still holding the bodies of 20 Palestinians who died during attacks against Israeli targets and during suicide bombings.

The PPS said that 72 Palestinian detainees died in Israeli prisons during Al-Aqsa Intifada which started in late September 2000, and that the total number of detainees who died in Israeli prisons amounted to 195.

The Palestinian researcher Abdul-Nasser Farwana, specialising in detainees’ affairs, , said that Israel is still holding the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians who died in attacks against Israel since 1967. He stated that the bodies of the detainees are placed in Israeli morgues and in graveyards known as Numbers Graveyards as the tombs carry numbers instead of names.

At least 3 detainees died during torture and 17 died due to medical negligence. 51 were shot and killed after they were captured, and one detainee was shot and killed at the Negev detention camp.

During Al-Aqsa Intifada, Israeli soldiers kidnapped 750 women, of whom 87 are still imprisoned. Of the more than 7500 children kidnapped, nearly 300 of them are still imprisoned.

Four female detainees gave birth behind bars. The Israeli army arrested hundreds of wives, mothers and relatives of wanted fighters as a means of pressuring the fighters to surrender.

As the Palestinians prepare to mark April 17, the Palestinian Prisoners Day, the PPS announced a series of activities to express solidarity with the detainees.

The activities include protests in the streets, interviews and programs about the detainees in local TV and Radio stations, lectures in schools, educational facilities and other popular activities.

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