Ahmed Asmar
15 April 2020•Update: 15 April 2020
ANKARA, Turkey
An online seminar was held Tuesday with the aim of highlighting the plight of Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Carrying the theme “Palestinian Prisoners and International Laws under Coronavirus Pandemic,” it was organized by the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad in partnership with the International Law Researcher Center at Fatih Mehmet University in Turkey and attracted hundreds of attendees from various countries.
The guest speakers included Richard Folk, the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories, Anis Kassim, a Palestinian legal expert and chairman of the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad, and other legal activists from several countries.
In his opening remarks and speaking as deputy secretary-general of the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad, Hesham Abu Mahfooz said the seminar is part of the struggle worldwide to raise awareness on Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails with no genuine means of protection from the coronavirus pandemic.
He said the conference has addressed parliaments across the world including in the European Union, the U.K., Latin America and South Africa to highlight the situation of these prisoners and to demand that they pressure Israel for their release.
For his part, Folk said Palestinian prisoners are suffering due to flagrant violations of fundamental international laws and conventions in light of the coronavirus outbreak in Israel.
“Those prisoners are part of the occupied population, which obliges the occupier to provide necessary medical and health needs for the prisoners…and [they] should be protected from any contagious diseases,” he added.
Kassim noted that “the Israeli authorities, in the first place, are violating basic rights such as the right to health” for these prisoners by depriving them of access to hygiene needs and by following a policy of medical negligence.
Other speakers highlighted Israeli prison authorities’ treatment of Palestinian prisoners, Israel's violations of international laws and conventions in its treatment of the prisoners and actions that could be taken worldwide to raise awareness on the situation of Palestinian prisoners.
Earlier, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called on Israel to reduce the number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh also called on the Israeli government to immediately release the Palestinian prisoners languishing in its jails.
Shtayyeh asserted that the release should include child prisoners and those suffering from chronic diseases, the number of which stands at 200.
According to Palestinian authorities, 5,000 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli detention facilities including 43 women,180 children and 700 patients, 200 of whom are suffering from chronic illnesses.
