Palestinian detainees suffer from brutal treatment inside Zionist jails
Many political analysts have unanimously agreed that the so-called Arab Spring has constituted a golden opportunity for Israel to perpetuate its occupation of the Arab territories and press ahead with its racist aggressive policies against the Arab people under occupation who are subjected to gross violations of their basic rights on daily basis.
One aspect of the Israeli aggressive practices against the Arab people under occupation is clearly manifested through the blatant violations of the rights of Arab detainees in Israeli jails. Arab people inside the Israeli Jails are suffering from harsh treatment and negligence of their health conditions. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has expressed concern over the deteriorating health conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails several times during the past two years. The international body made several statements denouncing the Israeli flagrant violations of the prisoners’ rights, especially with regard to various kinds of physical and psychological torture to which inmates are subjected to by the occupation authorities daily. The ICRC held the Israeli occupation authorities responsible for deteriorating health condition of Arab prisoners inside Israeli jails.
One of the many aggressive measures taken against the Arabs under occupation is the notorious administrative detention which is a sort of imprisonment without trial or charge that allows Israel to jail Palestinians for up to six months. The detention order can be renewed for indefinite periods of time. Israel is still holding 5,100 Palestinian detainees, many of them without charge or trial, including 250 children and 14 women, in 17 prisons. Palestinian prisoners have been subject to human rights violations such as torture during interrogations by Israeli prison authorities. About 1,400 prisoners were in a tough health condition, including 18 held at an Israeli hospital suffering from various disabilities, types of paralysis, heart diseases, and cancer which they developed because of the barbarous treatment and inhuman torment of the occupation forces.
Many demonstrations have been staged in the occupied Arab territories protesting against brutal practices inside the occupation jails and demanding the release of the detainees. Israeli troops have recently clashed with Palestinian youngsters outside Israel’s Ofer prison located near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. The clashes occurred as the Tel Aviv regime released about two dozen Palestinian prisoners it held for over two decades.
Despite the brutal Israeli practices against the Palestinian prisoners, the Palestinian authority agreed to resume negotiations with the Israel which wants the talks as a political cover for perpetuating its occupation of the Arab territories and pressing ahead with their racist policies. The Israelis were buying time, spending money, buying off members of the Congress. They now have over 500 members of America’s Congress who have signed a letter totally supporting Israel, opposing the talks. The Zionist occupation authorities are buying time, and in another sense Israel is hoping to create enough publicity showing itself as a peace advocate.
The Palestinian authority should make a wise decision and pull out from the negotiations, because it has nothing to gain in entering negotiations now and stop all kinds of contacts with the Zionists.
K.Q.