Egypt posts record EGP629b primary surplus in 2024/25    EGP swings vs. USD in early Sunday trade    EGX launches 1st phone app    Egypt achieves record primary budget surplus of EGP 629bn despite sharp fall in Suez Canal revenues    Escalation in Gaza, West Bank as Israeli strikes continue amid mounting international criticism    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Resumption of production at El Nasr marks strategic step towards localising automotive industry: El-Shimy    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, UNDP discuss outcomes of joint projects, future environmental cooperation    United Bank achieves EGP 1.51bn net profit in H1 2025, up 26.9% year-on-year    After Putin summit, Trump says peace deal is best way to end Ukraine war    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Jordan condemns Israeli PM remarks on 'Greater Israel'    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, bilateral ties in calls with Saudi, South African counterparts    Egypt prepares to tackle seasonal air pollution in Nile Delta    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt, Colombia discuss medical support for Palestinians injured in Gaza    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt's govt. issues licensing controls for used cooking oil activities    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Egypt's Sisi: Egypt is gateway for aid to Gaza, not displacement    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Seeking a new horizon for Palestinian prisoners
Published in Daily News Egypt on 05 - 03 - 2012

The thorny issue of the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails has numerous angles. First, it is a humanitarian cause. Many of the prisoners have spent decades, some more than 30 years in jail, with all the resulting social and economic ramifications for Palestinian society as a whole. Additionally, Palestinian leaders bear the moral responsibility for the fact that these activists have remained behind bars for periods far longer than logically acceptable. A full 121 of them have languished in prison since before the 1993 signing of the Oslo agreements with Israel.
But it is the legal aspect that ultimately decides the fate of the prisoners. Israel continues to reject the application of international law, particularly the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions that relate to prisoners, and considers Palestinian detainees subject to the regulations of the Israeli military, which is implemented by officers and settlers that are themselves criminals of war under international law. Israel's military does not respect human rights or abide by international standards for a fair trial but rather exists only to secure Israel's occupation of the occupied territories in order to achieve the goals of the Zionist movement.
According to Israeli official statistics from Jan. 31, 2012, there are 4,357 detainees (162 of which are children). Of these detainees, 309 are in arbitrary detention (called "administrative detention" by the Israeli authorities), that are held without any judicial proceedings. The number of prisoners that have been charged and sentenced is 3,215, among them 1,987 serving out sentences longer than 20 years.
The numbers in Israeli prisons continue to rise. According to Palestinian researcher and expert on prisoner issues Abdul-Nasser Ferwana, by Feb. 26 the number of Palestinian prisoners was 4,600. The highest number of prisoners held at any single given month since the start of Israel's occupation in 1967, he found, was during the first intifada, when approximately 12,500 Palestinians were held in Israeli jails. Monthly averages during the second intifada came close to this figure as well, at their peak.
This picture is bleak and the absence of a strategy concerning the prisoners is leading a search for new horizons. This has resulted in an initiative over the last two years pursued by civil society organizations, the Ministry of Detainee and ex-Detainee Affairs and the Palestinian leadership to internationalize the issue of the prisoners. This initiative is continuing through specialized committees made up of legal professionals, and includes a plan to go to the International Court of Justice in order to seek a decision on Palestinian prisoners' legal status and the laws applicable to them. We believe that some of the prisoners fit the definition of "prisoners of war" and must be treated according to the Third Geneva Convention, while the rest fall under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Israel, which is bound under all domestic and international laws to meet prisoners' daily needs, stopped fulfilling many of its responsibilities after the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority, which began to bear most of these costs. For example, according to the ministry, the PNA pays an average of NIS 16 million (about $4.3 million) annually on food and sustenance, depending on the number of prisoners, and about NIS 3.5 million (nearly $1 million) for clothing allowances, as well as any costs incurred for treatment, etc. Of course, these amounts multiplied when the number of detainees rose in previous years. The International Committee of the Red Cross used to provide the detainees with Arabic newspapers and magazines until the beginning of this year when it stopped because it no longer had funds. In recent years, occupation authorities even devised new strategies for the PNA to pay the costs of jailers, military judges, and the staff of the military prosecutor. The Israeli authorities have begun to impose heavy fines on prisoners who break prison rules, using the fines to pay for the prison apparatus. These fines have reached figures as high as NIS 17 million ($4.6 million) per year and are paid by the PNA, falling more recently with the number of detainees to about NIS 10 million ($2.7 million) a year. Of course, international law prohibits Israel from using this money for these purposes.
I think we should stop and think about this situation that allows Israel to shirk its responsibilities and even to profit from holding prisoners. When Israel was responsible for all of the prisoners' expenses, from 1967 until the first intifada, the number of Palestinian prisoners did not exceed 3,000. Now the occupation has become heavily subsidized for Israel with the establishment of the PNA and the provision of funds through European and other donors.
Our prisoners also are without basic protections. Ferwana quotes from Israeli sources within the Israeli Ministry of Health, stating that there has been a 15 percent increase in the number of permits given by the Israeli Ministry of Health to conduct clinical trials of drugs on Palestinian prisoners. Member of Knesset Dalia Itzik disclosed that in 1997, more than 1,000 permits were granted by Israel's Ministry of Health to test drugs on Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli authorities continue to "detain" the corpses of prisoners who die in captivity until their sentence is fulfilled. Prisoners have gone on hunger strike to protest their arbitrary detention, highlighted by Khader Adnan, who went on hunger strike for 66 days, and Hana Shalabi, who has been on hunger strike since mid-February to protest her re-detention after she was released last year in an exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Finally, in a move that has received broad public support, Palestinian administrative detainees have decided to boycott the kangaroo court that approves their imprisonment without charge.
All of these issues should be weighed in producing a comprehensive and unified strategy, especially in light of changes in the Arab states and the possibility for more popular movement now that it seems clear that the Arab peoples are driven to achieve results.
Shawqi Issa is director of Ensan Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Bethlehem and a former prisoner. This commentary is published by Daily News Egypt in collaboration with bitterlemons-international.org.


Clic here to read the story from its source.