GAZA, APR 20 /DNA/ – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates reaffirms its unwavering support for the thousands of Palestinian detainees held arbitrarily in the illegal Israeli occupation detention centers. The Ministry salutes their steadfastness in the face of one of the most prolonged and systematic policies of oppression in modern history.
To date, over 9,900 Palestinians are being held in the Israeli dungeons under inhumane and degrading conditions. Among them are 400 children, 29 women, and 51 journalists—all of whom are subjected to physical and psychological torture, deliberate medical neglect that aims to slowly kill them, starvation, and, in many cases, sexual abuse. The Ministry views these widespread and systematic practices as a blatant violation of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
More than 3,400 Palestinians are held under arbitrary administrative detention without charge or trial, a clear indicator of Israel’s use of detention as a tool of persecution against the Palestinian detainees. Since 7 October 2023, 63 detainees have been killed due to medical neglect or systematic torture, while countless others continue to suffer from chronic illnesses without access to adequate medical care.
The Ministry expresses grave concern over Israel’s escalating policy of collective punishment, including the denial of family visitation rights, long-term isolation of detainees, and other punitive measures targeting not only the detainees and their loved ones as well leaving them in a state of agony and concern. These actions expose the discriminatory and retaliatory nature of the illegal Israeli colonial regime.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates reiterates that the freedom and dignity of Palestinian detainees are part and parcel of the freedom of the Palestinian people as a whole, and are inseparable from the Palestinian people’s legitimate right to self-determination, as enshrined in international law. The Ministry reaffirms its commitment to mobilize all diplomatic, legal, and multilateral efforts to hold Israel, the illegal occupying Power, accountable for its crimes and to secure the immediate and unconditional release of all Palestinian detainees.
In this regard, the Ministry urgently calls upon the international community, particularly the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to fulfill their legal and moral obligations. This includes ensuring the protection of Palestinian detainees, demanding an end to the systematic and widespread use of administrative detention, and granting the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) full access to all places of detention.
Finally, the Ministry urges the global community to break its silence, and to take meaningful action, including economic sanctions, diplomatic pressure, and legal accountability mechanisms to end the ongoing Israeli violations against Palestinian people, including Palestinian detainees and their families.
