By
Yasser El-Banna, IOL Gaza correspondent
GAZA,
January 20 (IslamOnline) – Only 16 lawyers are standing for the
defense of 8000 Palestinian captives in Israeli prisons, a prominent
Palestinian lawmaker told IslamOnline Monday, January 20.
“The
small number of the lawyers eligible to defend the Palestinian
captives is due to the fact that Palestinian lawyers are unable to
have an access to Israeli courts and prisons, given the continued
relentless policy of closures and curfews and the oppressive laws in
the Jewish state,” Raji Al-Surani, Director of the Palestinian Human
Rights Center said.
Al-Surani,
who is also a member of the Geneva-based international lawmakers’
commission, said that to enter the Israeli jails where the
Palestinaisn are kept is for the Palestinian lawyers a mission
impossible. He cited the case of Al-Ansar 3 detention camp.
“In
the camp, only the Israeli lawyers can get in. Even the Gazan lawyers
who are allowed to appear in the Israeli courts, are not granted such
a luxury,” he lamented.
Even,
the Israeli prison administration refused to provide the lawyers with
a list of the detainees whose trials are nothing but unfair and
illegal, believed the Palestinian lawmaker.
“The
illegitimacy of the trials emanates from the fact the courts do not
act in accordance with the relevant international principles in force,
and those in charge are deprived of all their legal rights, such as
choosing their lawyers,” he argued, referring to the fast court
decisions made in the trial of Palestinian detainees, to add up to
Israel’s tough line of injustice and oppression on the issue.
ICHR
As
for the role of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to
end the Palestinians’ dilemma, Al-Surani slammed the international
body as it has evaded responsibility for dealing with the crisis.
“We
have no happy dreams about the ICRC’s expected intervention in the
Israeli acts, but we do hope that it will at least tries to protect
the civilians and ensure all conditions appropriate to keep them
surviving,” he said in a sarcastic tone.
However,
the Palestinian lawmaker acknowledged the historic role of the
committee in shedding light on the issue of the Palestinian captives
and improving their living conditions under an agreement signed
earlier with the Israeli government.
The
ICRC also exerts no enough efforts as to the issue of Palestinians who
had been expelled from the West Bank to Gaza under Israel’s claims
the step would help subdue what it called Palestinian violence against
Israeli targets.
“We
want the ICRC staff to stick to the committee’s principles,
philosophy and charter, as there are some of its workers who have
violated all of these in recent times,” Al-Surani complained.
Israel’s
Exploitation of New Gulf War
Al-Surani
did not rule out that Israel might exploit the growing U.S. threats of
war on Iraq to mount its aggression against the Palestinian detainees.
“Israel
is no need for such of these pretexts, but it makes use of all
conditions available to its own advantage,” he warned.
Expulsion
Alarm
 |
|
Israeli
occupation forces now detain some 8000 Palestinians in
deteriorating humanitarian conditions
|
In
a related development, Palestinian Minister for Prisoners Affairs
Hisham Abdel-Raziz warned against a possible expulsion of the
Palestinian captives as the Jewish state might exploit the
repercussions for any military action against Baghdad.
“The
Palestinian Authority has concerns over the possibility of the Israeli
government’s taking such a step,” Abdel-Raziq said in press
statements.
The
number of the Palestinian captives in Israeli jails hit 1527 before
the eruption of the intifadah, or uprising against Israeli occupation,
but it rocketed up to 8000 during the two-year uprising.
In
addition, more Israeli detention centers were set up to provide a
space for these large numbers.
Delving
into specific statistics, there are 317 Palestinian captives sentenced
to 99 years in prison. Dozens await the same dramatic fate. Many
others have been slapped sentences ranging from 10 and 20 years’
imprisonment.
Captives
from Arab countries in Israeli jails include three Lebanon-based
Hezbollah members, one German and two Egyptians, and the remainder are
Jordanians.
