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Families
of detainees demanded their release
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By
IOL Palestine Correspondent
GAZA,
June 2 (IslamOnline.net) - The families of thousands of Palestinian
prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails gathered Monday, June 2, in
Gaza in the courtyard of the International Committee of the Red Crescent
to denounce the Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon’s decision to set free
“only two Palestinian detainees”.
The
families deemed that decision a mere deception for the world public
opinion. They urged the Arab leaders participating in the Arab-U.S.
summit to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh not to ignore the issue of
detainees.
Sharon
had pledged Thursday, May 29, during a meeting with his Palestinian
counterpart Mahmoud Abbas to set free Taisseer Khaled, a member of Fath
Movement’s political bureau and Ahmed Jbarra Abu El-Sukkar, detained
since 1975 for killing and injuring tens of Israelis, as well as some
one hundred administrative prisoners.
Families
of detainees pressed for “releasing all prisoners without exception”
and called upon the Arab leaders participating in Sharm El-Sheikh summit
and the Palestinian delegates who will hold talks with the Israelis
under the auspices of President Bush in Al-Aqba to “pay heed to the
catastrophe befalling their sons.”
They
also urged the international community and international human rights
organizations to take the necessary measures to save their sons,
imprisoned by the Israeli occupation.
Such
a demonstration coincided with the decision taken by detainees to go on
a hunger strike Tuesday, June 3, to attract the attention of the leaders
attending Sharm El-Sheikh summit.
The
Palestinian Prisoner Club on Sunday, June 1, accused the Israeli
occupation army of torturing and humiliating children taken prisoners
and denying them visits by their relatives.
In
a report on the children taken prisoner issued on the occasion of the
World Child Day, the Club said, “The number of prisoners between 13-18
amounts to 350, including 11 girls.”
The
report said that some of those children had been detained for throwing
stones at military patrols, while others had been arrested during
Israeli raids on their homes.
Lawyers
of detainees disclosed that the handcuffs used by the occupation forces
with the children cause severe pain and, in some cases, internal
hemorrhage. The lawyers quoted children as saying that they were
deprived of food and drink for long periods.
Prisoners’
Statistics
A
recent statistic shows the number of Palestinian detainees and their
affiliation to different resistance factions. Askalan prison includes
550 detainees, 285 of whom belong to Fath Movement, 160 to Hamas, 40 to
the Popular Front, 50 to the Jihad, 10 to the Democratic Front and 3 to
Fada Party.
The
desert prison of Nafha includes 650 prisoners, 260 of whom belong to
Fath movement, 260 to Hamas, 10 to the Democratic Front, 70 to the
Islamic Jihad, 30 to the Poular Front and 7 to Hizbullah.
In
Be’r sabaa with its four divisions, there are 200 prisoners from Fath,
150 from Hamas, 70 from Islamic Jihad and 40 from the Popular Front.
Furthermore,
military concentration camps like Naqb includes 1150 detainees, of whom
390 belong to Hamas and 480 to Fath.
As
for Magd prison, 470 detainees belong to Fath, 430 to Hamas, 120 to
Islamic Jihad, 80 to the Popular Front and 30 to the Democratic Front.
The
total number of detainees in Oufer prison amounts to 850 detainees,
belonging to different Palestinian factions.
