Secretary of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Saeb Erekat called on the European Union countries and international human rights organizations to intervene immediately to stop the Israeli occupation forces´ crimes
Erekat stressed during a meeting with ambassadors and consuls of EU countries accredited to Palestine, in the presence of the head of the Prisoners and Editors Affairs Authority Qadri Abu Bakr, the President of the Prisoners Club Qaddoura Fares, the liberated prisoner Khaleda Jarrar, the Director of Al-Haq Shawan Jabarin Foundation, and the Director of the Hurriyat Center The Palestinian leadership is exerting great efforts to hold Israel accountable for its grave violations of the legitimate rights of our people, especially the issue of prisoners.
Erekat briefed international officials on the most prominent violations committed by the Israeli occupation forces and its prisons against Palestinian prisoners such as torture and degrading treatment, medical negligence and others, citing the martyrdom of the prisoner Nassar Taqatqa two weeks ago in solitary confinement as a result of deliberate medical negligence, stressing that the martyrdom and indifference to the deterioration of health is considered Premeditated execution must be held accountable.
In his turn, Abu Bakr stressed that the martyr Taqatqa, who was martyred as a result of deliberate medical negligence as shown by the autopsy results and not as a result of a heart attack as claimed by the Israeli Prison Service, is not a case but reflects a systematic arbitrary and continuous system implemented by the occupation authority against prisoners since 1967, noting that the martyr He was appearing before the Israeli courts on a stretcher demanding that he be taken to hospital for treatment, but to no avail until he died on July 16.
On the other hand, the legal advisers in the Department of Negotiations Affairs gave a comprehensive presentation on the ongoing violations by the Israeli occupation authorities of the rights of Palestinian prisoners protected by international and international humanitarian law, in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, the Charter of the United Nations and other international resolutions.
They pointed out that Israel has violated the international agreements it signed and ratified, such as the International Convention against Torture and the International Convention on Political and Civil Rights, stressing that since 1967, at least 200 prisoners have been martyred, 78 of whom were killed as a result of deliberate killing, And 73 prisoners died as a result of torture, in addition to 8 prisoners martyred as a result of direct fire.
For her part, Jarrar offered her bitter detention experience and the conditions of detention and suffering of female prisoners in Israeli jails, calling on the international community to pressure Israel, the occupying Power, to immediately release the prisoners unconditionally, and to hold it accountable for its crimes and systematic violations of prisoners´ rights.
"Most of the time, the prisoners are tortured, humiliated and ill-treated, especially during the interrogation period, in addition to being denied access to a lawyer," she said. The policy of deliberate medical negligence that claimed the life of the prisoner is a terrible crime that requires immediate intervention in order to prevent the recurrence of such crimes in the future.
For his part, Jabarin explained the brutal methods of torture practiced by the Israeli Prisons Service against Palestinian prisoners, and the use of sophisticated tools and techniques in torture to break their will.
Jabarin pointed out that the investigators are working to hide these practices so as not to allow any third party to oversee the process of investigation or follow-up on the condition of the prisoner.
In turn, al-Araj spoke about his experience in detention in Israeli prisons, especially the torture he suffered on one occasion for nearly 100 days. Their release, such as the case of prisoner Sami Abu Diak, suffering from cancer, exacerbated by medical negligence, and Bassam al-Sayeh, who is still detained and also suffering from cancer.
He said: "The martyrdom of Nasser Taqatqa is a crime that requires urgent action before it is too late, and sound the alarm that the continuation of these illegal policies will claim more lives of prisoners."
Participants in the meeting called on the European Union and international human rights organizations to open an investigation into the heinous crime committed by the martyr Taqatqa, and to hold the occupation authority accountable for all its crimes against prisoners. And to continue to enact racial legislation against them, including withholding the benefits of prisoners and their families, and thus depriving them of the most basic rights guaranteed by all legal laws.
