LONDON,
November 19, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Israeli occupation forces have
arrested one-fifth of the Palestinians in the occupied territories or
650,000 people since the Arab-Israeli war of 1967, a report by the
Palestinian Ministry of Detainees and the Released Prisoners showed
Friday, November 18.
The
report, a copy of which was obtained by the London-based Al-Quds Press
news agency, put at 8,800 the number of Palestinians who are still
being kept at 28 Israeli jails.
It
said that the number is on the rise as 2,500 Palestinians have been
arrested since last February.
The
report further slammed the appalling prison conditions, noting that
some 181 prisoners died in custody.
Prisoners
are additionally abused and beaten by the jailers, and subjected to
humiliating body searches, it added.
Women,
Children
The
report also said 400 Palestinian women have been detained by Israeli
occupation troops since the second Palestinian Intifada in 2000.
It
said 114 of whom are still imprisoned, including three under the age
of 18.
They
are systematically provoked by female Israeli troops, who used to
insult them and call them names.
Israeli
troops furthermore have arrested 4,000 children since the second
Intifada, 297 of whom are still in the occupation dungeons, said the
report.
Some
75 children are suffering from various diseases and deprived of the
basic medical care.
Palestinians
mark on April 17 every year the Prisoner Day with rallies across the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip, calling for the release of their
brothers and sisters.
The
Palestinian Authority and resistance factions have severally warned
that the continued presence of thousands of Palestinians in Israeli
jails would scupper the chance of peace in the Middle East.
