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Every year, Palestinians mark the annual Prisoner’s Day on April 17. Activities and events called for by the Prisoners and ex-Prisoners Affairs Committee and other Palestinian grass roots organisations were held this year, too, to express support to thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli jails. In 1974, the Palestinian National Council set April 17 as a National Day in support of the struggle of Palestinian prisoners.

By the end of last month, the number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails reached 6,500. They face torture, suffering and medical negligence. The prisoners include 63 females — 21 of them are mothers — 11 minors, 350 children and 500 held in the so-called “administrative detention”. The latter never stop protesting their arrest and deprivation of their freedom with no indictment, which is prohibited under international law. Among those prisoners, 534 are sentenced to one or multiple life imprisonments, while 215 were martyred. They were either killed or tortured by special teams or they died as a result of medical negligence. Figures show that more than 1,800 of them are ill in Zionist prisons, including those who fight death. Since 2002, a number of Palestine Legislative Council members as well as Palestinian Cabinet ministers were detained in a bid to undermine the Palestinian political rule. Six representatives were arrested including Khalida Jarrar and Marwan Barghouti, held since 2002 and sentenced to five life terms, while Ahmad Sa’adat is in jail since 2006 under a 30-year prison term.

Israeli forces, that continued to fight regular Arab armies until the year 2000, when they withdrew from Lebanon, have turned to continued “war” of escalated and systematic arrests and killings against a people unarmed, except by its will of resistance. The Israeli soldier, armed with military equipment from head to toe and always ready to attack, is no longer facing another regular soldier. The Israeli army is now fighting the youth, children, women and senior citizens who do not have an army!

Activating accountability tools

All parties to the Palestinian national movement — despite all the circumstances and the momentous hurdles — must formulate a clear strategy to deal with and follow up the prisoners’ issue. Indeed, the Palestinians realise that no matter how much they seek support from Arab and international human rights organisations or resort to the International Criminal Court, they will not be able to reproduce and create a ‘modern occupation’, not to mention a ‘human occupation!!’ Nevertheless, it is imperative to continue in such a way as to support the issue of the

■ Professor As’ad Abdul Rahman is the chairman of the Palestinian Encyclopaedia.