Prisoners.. |
||||
 |
||||
|
||||
|
|
|||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
| |
||||
|
||||
| |
||||
| Palestine Diaries |
| courtesy The Electronic Intifada |
| Human Rights |
| courtesy The Electronic Intifada |
| |
|
Vermonters
for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel |
|
| Prisoners index page |
The
Treatment of Prisoners and Detainees by Israel and Others
Prisoners Archive - March 2005
Actors
at an Israeli court demonstrate Israel’s torture methods used against Palestinian
detainees as described by witnesses. Source: Miftah
|
Prisoners in Ofer demand barring entry of armed guards International Middle East Media Center 3/30/2005 Prisoners’ media center reported Wednesday that a bullet, which was accidentally fired by an Israeli soldier during counting prisoners, passed a centimeter far from the head of a prisoner. The incident happened in section 8 in Ofer detention center near the West Bank city of Ramallah. 177 Palestinian Prisoners Killed Since 1967 International Press Center 3/29/2005 GAZA, Palestine, March 29, 2005 (IPC+WAFA) ---Figures released by the Prisoner and Ex-Prisoner Ministry showed that 177 Palestinian detainees were killed inside the Israeli jails since 1967. Planning and Statistics Department of the Ministry said in ,a statistical report, 69 Palestinian prisoners (39%) were killed due to being liable to severe torture whilst 37 prisoners (20.9%) died due to the lack of medical health care. The report also revealed that (71) prisoners (40.1%) were willfully killed after the arrest -in a cold blooded murder- pointing out that 57 prisoners (32.2%) from the southern provinces and (120) ones (67.8%) from the northern provinces and other localities. Gaza ''still closed'' despite truce BBC 3/29/2005 Gaza remains a "big prison" for Palestians living under Israeli occupation, Israeli human rights groups say in a new report. The findings of B''Tselem and HaMoked say Israeli travel restrictions to and from the Strip remain severe despite the truce between the two sides. Controls on trade have also increased poverty in Gaza, their report says. The restrictions amount to violations of human rights and international law, according to the groups. The report, entitled One Big Prison, was released on Tuesday. Palestinian Prisoners in "Hadarim" To Go Through a Hunger Strike International Press Center 3/27/2005 GAZA, Palestine, March 27,2005 (IPC+Agencies)--The 400 Palestinians prisoners inside the Israeli jail of Hadarim announced ,in a letter, their intent to go through a hunger strike as a precedent gesture before the anticipated meeting between president Mahmoud Abbas and the Israeli primer Arial Sharon in order to put their issue atop the agenda. In a letter, passed on to the ministry of Prisoner And Ex-Prisoner Affair, the prisoners said that the Israeli prison service had repudiated from all the promises taken to end the last hunger strike in August 2004 to improve their humanitarian situation. Israeli Troops Invade Jenin Despite Truce by Palestinians International Press Center 3/28/2005 JENIN, Palestine, March28, 2005 (IPC+ Agencies)--The Israeli occupation troops invaded late at yesterday night the West Bank city of Jenin for the first time since the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) declared a de facto truce in February, 2005.Local Palestinian sources told the IPC correspondent that a large Israeli contingent including tanks and armored vehicles swept last night into the city. The sources said that the Israeli soldiers who have been deployed in parts of the city, broke early on Monday into Palestinian-owned houses, detaining five residents, some of whom were freed from prison recently under an Israeli decision to release 500 Palestinian prisoners. News Briefs, March 25-26, 2005 International Middle East Media Center 3/26/2005 Army invades Azzoun / Settlers attack a woman near Nablus / Salem Military court sentences three residents / Three detainees sentenced and fined / Gush Shalom: “Sharon''s actions contradict with his words"/ Three detainees sentenced and fined 360 child detainees in Israeli prisons International Middle East Media Center 3/24/2005 Minister of Detainees at the Palestinian Authority Sufian Abu Zaida, said that there are currently 360 child detainees in Israeli prisons and detention camps; at least half of them are between the ages of 12-15. Abu Zaida stated that the child detainees are facing harsh conditions in detention deprived from their basic human rights, and subjected to continuous harassments by the Israeli soldiers. The detainees are deprived of their rights of educations, medical treatment and are subjected to torture during interrogation. OMCT Calls on Israel to Respect Rules of International Law WAFA 3/24/2005 March,24,2005,(WAFA)- The International Secretariat of World Organization Against Torture "OMCT" expressed its grave concern over Israeli killing of six children and wounding four in the Northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia. In a message published Thursday, OMCT said that it has been informed by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), that on 14th January 2005, six children were killed and four others were injured when they were struck by Israeli Occupation Forces tank shellfire. OMCT added that the children were picking strawberries in a field near their home when they were hit. New prison wing for pullout protesters YNetNews 3/23/2005 Israeli prison initiates special "Withdrawal Ward" that could house up to 900; reserved for people arrested during protests of Sharon''s pullout plan -- Call it the Withdrawal Ward: Protesters of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon''s pullout plan will have their own designated section in one of Israel''s prisons should they participate in violent clashes with police, Israel Prison Service officials said on Wednesday. Police "initiated" the ward in Maasiyahu prison in the town of Ramle, which they said would soon receive 42 right-wing activists who were arrested on Tuesday when they blocked several major roads with burning tires... New section in Ansar 3 detention camp International Middle East Media Center 3/23/2005 The Palestinian Prisoners Society revealed that the Israeli Authorities has decided to open a new section in Ansar 3 detention camp in the Negev desert, to accomodate additional 1200 detainees. The society stated that the there are currently 2200 detainees in Ansar 3 detention placed in section 4 and 5, and facing very hard living conditions, especially section 5, which contains a very bad kitchen and unclosed sewerage lines. The new section, which carried the name Ansar 3, will include 1200 new detainees, raising the number of detainees in the Negev to 3400 detainees. UN rights expert praises Israel BBC 3/23/2005 A UN human rights expert has praised Israel for taking steps to improve the condition of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Special rapporteur John Dugard welcomed Israel''s halting of targeted killings, the removal of some checkpoints and a plan to pull out of the Gaza Strip. But he said Palestinian patience was running out over the issue of West Bank settlements and prisoner releases. Israel rejected much of the report, saying Mr Dugard''s mandate was biased. NZ dismisses as stunt passport offer to Vanunu Ha''aretz 3/23/2005 WELLINGTON, New Zealand - The government on Wednesday dismissed a Green Party call to grant a New Zealand passport to Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu as a stunt, saying he wouldn''t be able to make use of it to leave Israel. Vanunu served 18 years in prison after telling reporters that Israel had developed nuclear weapons. He is currently charged with breaching an order preventing him from speaking to foreign journalists. He also is barred from leaving Israel, where officials have said they fear Vanunu may have more nuclear secrets to share. IOF Sentences 2 to Prison, Arrest another in WB WAFA 3/22/2005 RAMALLAH, March 22, 2005 (WAFA)- Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) sentenced Tuesday two citizens to jail and arrested another in the West Bank (WB), Palestinian security sources and witnesses said. The sources said that "Ofer" Israeli military court, in Ramallah, sentenced Hassan ala''dl to 72 months in prison and a fine of NIS 6.000 (Israeli Currency), while Ibrahim Hassan was sentenced to 52-month imprisonment term. Both citizens are from Bethlehem. Meanwhile, IOF soldiers arrested Lo''ay Abu Shkheim 27, on his way to work west of Hebron City, leading him to an unknown spot, witnessed said. In Qalqiliya, Israeli colonizers of "Qedomem" colony assaulted an ambulance driver after forcing him to stop an IOF metal gate erected in entrance of Kufr Qadoom village. MPA: 35,000 Prisoners in Israeli Prisons Since Al-Aqsa Intifada WAFA 3/21/2005 GAZA, March 21, 2005, (WAFA)- Ministry of Prisoners Affairs (MPA) revealed that the total number of Palestinians arrested during Al-Aqsa Intifada is reached 35,000 prisoners. In a monthly report issued Monday, MPA said that till the current March, the number of Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails is reached 7000 Palestinians distributed among more than 20 Israeli prisons and interrogation centers. The report revealed that 644 prisoners were arrested before the current Intifada, 180 from Gaza Strip (GS), 333 from West Bank (WB), 87 from Jerusalem, 30 Arabs from Israel and 14 others from another Arab states, adding that 398 prisoners were arrested before Oslo accords. Since Calm Down, Israel Rounds Up 170 Palestinians International Press Center 3/20/2005 GAZA, Palestine, March 20, 2005 (IPC)--The Palestinian Prisoner and Ex-prisoner Ministry reported that the Israeli occupation forces since the end of the late January to nowadays had arrested 170 citizens in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, climbing the whole number of Palestinian prisoners into 8469 distributed on 28 prisons,detention camps and inquiry facilities as their conditions of detention are extremely poor, and in some cases life-threatening. A child detainee, sick and tortured International Middle East Media Center 3/20/2005 The Palestinian Prisoners Society revealed on Monday that a child detainee from Jenin was severely tortured causing sever bleeding, while prison administration refuses to provide him with the needed medical treatment. Lawyer of the Prisoners Society, Hanan Al-Khateeb, said that Rakan Mahmoud Ghawadra, 15, from Jenin, is suffering of a very bad health condition in Telmond detention for youth. Ghawadra said in a sworn statement that he was severely tortured and forced to sign a forced confession written in Hebrew. Palestinian armed factions capitalise on truce to regroup ReliefWeb 3/22/2005 GAZA CITY, March 22 (AFP) - Palestinian militant groups, weakened by more than four years of fighting against Israel, are capitalising on the relative calm of an informal truce to strengthen their political and military clout. Representatives of the 13 main Palestinian factions agreed last Thursday to observe a period of calm until the end of the year at talks in Cairo, provided Israel ends all forms of aggression and releases prisoners. Detainees'' rights violated in Kfar Atzion International Middle East Media Center 3/17/2005 The Hebron office of the Palestinian Prisoners Society revealed on Thursday that young detainees in Kfar Atzion are facing harsh conditions and continuous violations which contradict with the International Law. The office revealed that dozens of detainees are being tortured, sexually harassed by the soldiers in addition to being filmed while cleaning the room blindfolded and tied. Also, the office reported that soldiers repeatedly ordered their military dogs to attack the detainees and bite them during interrogation in order to make them sign force confessions. ''One huge US jail'' The Guardian 3/19/2005 Afghanistan is the hub of a global network of detention centres, the frontline in America''s ''war on terror'', where arrest can be random and allegations of torture commonplace. Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark investigate on the ground and talk to former prisoners...Only the 17,000-strong US forces, with their all-terrain Humvees and Apache attack helicopters, have the run of the land, and they have used the haze of fear and uncertainty that has engulfed the country to advance a draconian phase in the war against terror. Afghanistan has become the new Guantánamo Bay. Peace moves meet wall of mistrust in Jericho greets The Independent 3/17/2005 Israeli troops have begun to hand over security control of Jericho to the Palestinian Authority, and four other West Bank cities are due to follow, in what is seen as a message to ordinary Palestinians that an informal truce is paying off. Many of Jericho''s 25,000 Arab citizens are sceptical. In the Green Valley restaurant, heady with the scent of spring blossom and grilled lamb, Maher Alawi, a waiter, said he wouldn''t believe that the Israelis were really easing their grip until he saw it. "The Israelis are playing with us. Jericho will remain one big prison. The majority of Israelis want peace, but not the government, not the settlers and not the generals." PA rejects Israeli criteria for releasing the detainees International Middle East Media Center 3/17/2005 Minister of Detainees and Liberated Detainees Affairs, Sufian Abu Zaida, reaffirmed the Palestinian position which rejects the Israeli criteria of releasing the detainees. Abu Zaida said that the Palestinian Authority demands, as a first step, the release of all detainees who were arrested and imprisoned prior to 1994. Abu Zaida, talking to the Palestinian Radio, said that Israel was not willing to discuss the issue of Palestinian detainees accused of killing Israeli soldiers or settlers, but apparently it is now leaning toward discussing this issue. Israeli Medic Jailed for being Kind to Palestinian Prisoners International Press Center 3/17/2005 GAZA, Palestine, March 17, 2005 (IPC+Arab48)-- The Israeli occupation authorities jailed an Israeli medical staff member for seven days and transferred him to another work destination after the latter had gifted some Palestinian prisoners sweets and fruits, the Israeli-Arab website of Arabs48 reported Thursday. Yediout Ahronot Israeli Daily''s online edition reported on Wednesday that the Israeli security authorities declined a request by the said medic regarding his transfer to another prison, where restrictions on prisoners are less that the ones in the prison he serves at. Mordechai Vanunu charged with violating terms of release Ha''aretz 3/18/2005 The State Prosecutor''s Office brought charges against Mordechai Vanunu yesterday at the Jerusalem Magistrate''s Court, accusing him of violating his terms of release in 21 separate cases. Vanunu was released on April 24, 2004, after serving 18 years in prison for making public Israel''s nuclear secrets. Upon his release, the security authorities imposed severe restrictions on his freedom of movement, and ordered him not to meet with foreign nationals or attempt to leave the country. Palestinian Groups to Honor Cease-Fire The Guardian 3/18/2005 SIXTH OF OCTOBER CITY, Egypt (AP) - Palestinian militants declared a halt to attacks on Israel for the rest of this year, their longest cease-fire promise ever and a victory for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. But they warned Thursday the truce would collapse if Israel does not hold its own fire and release Palestinian prisoners. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon described the announcement as a ``positive first step,'''' though he insisted that for greater progress to take place ``terrorist organizations cannot continue to exist as armed groups.'''' Halting Raids, Releasing Prisoners Key for Truce: Hamas Islam Online 3/15/2005 CAIRO, March 15, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Hours before taking part in an inter-Palestinian dialogue hosted by Egypt, Hamas said reaching a formal ceasefire with Israel is conditional on the release of all Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails and halting incessant incursions against the Palestinian people. “Hamas would neither make concessions nor give up the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” Mohamed Nezal, a leading Hamas figure, said in a seminar organized Monday, March 14, by IslamOnline.net in Cairo. Israel retreats threats on Sa''adat''s intended release International Middle East Media Center 3/15/2005 Israel to cut ties with PA if Sa''adat is released -- Tuesday, 15 March 2005 Israeli official source said Tuesday that the conflict with the Palestinian Authority over its intentions to release PFLP leader Ahmed Sa''adat will not delay the handover of Jericho. The official statement followed fierce attacks by few Israeli officials agisnt the PA, accompanied with threats that Israel would halt the handover and cut ties with the PA....Israeli political and military officials warned the Palestinian authority against releasing some Palestinian leaders from Jericho Prison. Israeli paramedic arrested for giving Palestinian detainees sweets and fruits International Middle East Media Center 3/16/2005 Israeli soldiers arrested an Israeli paramedic after he distributed fruits and sweets on several detainees in an Israeli prison; the medic was punished by seven days imprisonment and will be transferred to another prison. The Israeli online daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Israeli security rejected a request by the paramedic to be transferred to a jail where fewer restrictions are imposed on the detainees. An Israeli movement known as “Breaking the Silence” said that this event is an example on the conditions of some Israeli soldiers forced into military service. U.S. judges tell Pollard his case is `not unique'' Ha''aretz 3/16/2005 WASHINGTON - Jonathan Pollard''s lawyers ran into tough questioning in a federal appeals court yesterday when they argued that Pollard''s life-prison term stemmed from lies by the government and failure by his previous attorneys to represent him properly. But Judge David Sentelle, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, responded that Pollard''s lawyers were on weak legal ground, and said that granting their request to revive the case would mean opening "floodgates" for hundreds of other prisoners sentenced long ago. "The problem with Mr. Pollard" is that he "he thinks he is unique," Sentelle said. "This is not unique." Detainees sexually harassed in Kfar Aztion International Middle East Media Center 3/15/2005 Lawyer of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Hussein Al-Sheikh said that he managed to visit a number of detainees in Kfar Aztion detention, especially young detainees, who informed him that interrogators are severely torturing them, in addition to sexually harassing them during interrogation. Al-Sheikh reported that the interrogators are clubbing and torturing the detainees on every part of their bodies, including private parts, in addition to threatening them of rape and other sorts of sexual harassments. IOF Arrests 7 Citizens in WB WAFA 3/15/2005 TUBAS, March 15, 2005 (WAFA)-Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested Tuesday seven citizens in the West Bank (WB) cities of Tubas, Hebron and Nablus, Palestinian sources said. Eyewitnesses told WAFA that Israeli military vehicle stopped a civilian car and forced its four passengers to leave, adding that Israeli soldiers arrested and led them into an unknown place. Meanwhile, two civilians were arrested when Israeli soldiers besieged a house in Hebron city and forced its inhabitants to leave. Sources from the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) said that Israeli soldiers broke into the house and arrested two citizens, leading them into an unknown disclose. Israel to hand over Jericho to PA control Wednesday Ha''aretz 3/15/2005 Abbas to free PFLP head involved in assassination of Israeli tourism minister -- Israel is slated to finally hand over security control in Jericho to the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday morning, despite a contretemps that broke out Tuesday when Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was quoted as saying that two high-profile Palestinian prisoners held in the Jericho jail would be released as soon as the PA took control over the Jordan Valley town. Palestinian groups discuss truce in Cairo Daily Star 3/16/2005 Faction leaders hinge cease-fire on Israeli concessions -- Egypt urged unity Tuesday, trying to strengthen Mahmoud Abbas'' hand as the Palestinian president began a tough sell of a one-year cease-fire with Israel at the start of talks with leaders of militant Palestinian factions. Already under pressure from Israel, Abbas has come to Cairo to convince the militant groups to declare and live by the 12-month truce, even though Israel says one year is not enough. Faction leaders, arriving for talks expected to last several days, say they''re not interested unless Abbas can secure their demands from Israel - including Palestinian prisoner release, an end to military incursions into Palestinian towns, and a halt to the "targeted killing" of wanted militants. Female detainees in Telmond tortured by electric shock International Middle East Media Center 3/13/2005 Lawyer of the Prisoners’ Supporters Society, Sana’ Al-Harbawi, said that prison administration in Telmond detention for women stepped up its harsh procedures against the detainees. Al-Harbawi reported that she met during her last visit to Telmond on March 9, 2005, with Qahera Al-Saadi, representative of female detainees in Telmond who informed her that the administration is using illegal methods against the detainees. Al-Saadi is a mother of four children from Jenin refugee camp, Al-Saadi is sentenced to three life terms. One of the methods used is the electric shock machine, which is a wireless small machine with and exposed wire on top and a button near the handle; when used against a detainee, he (she) losses consciousness for half an hour, after waking up, the detainee will not be able to move normally for three days. Hamas says ceasefire linked to prisoner release Middle East Online 3/14/2005 Senior official from militant movement says truce will not work without release of all prisoners. -- GAZA CITY - A ceasefire by Palestinian militant groups would be destined to failure without Israel allowing the release of all Palestinian prisoners, a senior official from the radical Hamas movement said Monday. "Any ceasefire or period of calm will not succeed while our prisoners continue to languish inside Israeli prisoners," Ismail Haniyeh said at a protest held by prisoners'' families in Gaza. "When Hamas decided to observe a calm period, it had said the release of prisoners was the most important issue," he added. Palestinian prisoner release talks begin today Ha''aretz 3/14/2005 The first meeting of the joint Israeli-Palestinian committee discussing the release of prisoners will be held this evening in Jerusalem. The committee was agreed upon between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud Abbas during their recent meeting at Sharm el-Sheikh. Deteriorating conditions of Jordanian detainees in Israeli detentions International Middle East Media Center 3/10/2005 The Palestinian Prisoners Society reported that 22 Jordanian detainees in Israeli prisons started an open ended hunger strike on March, 3, 2005, in protest to the bad conditions they face in detention. The society stated that there are five detainees suffering of chronic diseases, joined the hunger strike and stooped taking any medications, which directly endangers their lives. Most of the Jordanian detainees are in Hadarim detention, some of them were transferred recently to the prisons'' clinic as a result of the continuous hunger strike, among them Sultan Al-Ajlouni, spokesman of the Jordanian detainees in Israeli detention camps, Al-Ajlouni was imprisoned more than 23 years ago. Detainees in Hadarim facing daily hardships International Middle East Media Center 3/10/2005 Lawyer of the Bethlehem office of the Palestinian Prisoners'' Society Hanan Al-Khateeb, visited several detainees in Hadarim detention, who informed her of the harsh conditions and daily difficulties they face. Detainee Khalil Baraq''a, from Bethlehem told Al-Khateeb that there are 280 detainees in Hadarim facing daily hardships, attacks and humiliations. “Hadarim is a detention for punishment, torture and violations, most of the detainees there received high terms”, Baraq''a stated. Jordan: Israel must release prisoners Jerusalem Post 3/11/2005 Jordan''s King Abdullah II is willing to visit Israel for the first time in more than four years once confidence-building measures take place, particularly the release of Jordanian prisoners, the foreign minister said Friday. Foreign Minister Hani al-Mulki said that after talks last week in Israel he hoped Israel would free the prisoners as soon as next month. A prisoner release and visit by Abdullah would crown the improving ties between the two countries, which last month renewed diplomatic relations broken by differences over the Palestinian uprising since 2000. BBC says sorry to Israel The Guardian 3/11/2005 The BBC has bowed to an Israeli demand for a written apology from its deputy bureau chief in Jerusalem, Simon Wilson, who was barred from the country for failing to submit for censorship an interview with the nuclear whistleblower, Mordechai Vanunu. Mr Wilson was allowed to return to Israel on Thursday after signing a letter to the government acknowledging that he defied the law by ignoring demands from the security service and military censors to view tapes of an interview with Mr Vanunu after he was released from 19 years in prison last year. The climbdown has angered some BBC journalists, who say it will compromise their work in Israel. Guantánamo jail switch planned The Guardian 3/12/2005 US inmates face threat of worse abuse under scheme to send them to prisons in their own countries -- The Pentagon is planning to transfer half the inmates at Guantánamo Bay to prisons in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Yemen, despite fears that they would face even worse human rights abuses than at the US camp. The defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, has urged the State Department to ratchet up the pressure on unresponsive allies to take custody of the prisoners, and relieve the Bush administration of maintaining a detention facility which is increasingly viewed as a burden. US interrogation methods cleared BBC 3/10/2005 A Pentagon investigation into the interrogation of prisoners detained in the war on terror has found its policy did not lead to abuse. "We found no link between approved interrogation techniques and detainee abuse," the review concluded. However, the investigation said there were a number of "missed opportunities" in developing interrogation policies. Report slams Israeli torture of Palestinian detainees Daily Star 3/11/2005 U.S. state department says all government authorities took part in approving abuse -- Recently, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the U.S. State Department released its 2004 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. In the section on Israel and the Occupied Territories, the report points to "problems in some areas" in reference to Israel''s treatment of Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The report quotes complaints made by "credible" non-governmental organizations (NGOs) against the Israeli Prison System (IPS) - complaints that Palestinian NGO''s and prisoners rights groups have been making for decades - that Israel''s treatment and detention of Palestinian political prisoners is in violation of international law and human rights. Palestinians accuse Israel of foot-dragging on peace, militant killed ReliefWeb 3/10/2005 RAMALLAH, West Bank, March 10 (AFP) - The Palestinian Authority on Thursday accused Israel of dragging its feet over promised confidence-building gestures after talks stalled on West Bank security handovers and a gunman was killed. "Israel is prevaricating over carrying out its Sharm el-Sheikh resolutions," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told Voice of Palestine radio from Madrid where he was to attend an anti-terrorism conference...In the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Sharon pledged to release 900 Palestinian prisoners and transfer security control in five West Bank towns -- Ramallah, Bethlehem, Qalqilya, Tulkarem and Jericho -- to the PA. 7700 detainees in 27 detentions and interrogation centers International Middle East Media Center 3/10/2005 The Mandela Institute for Human Rights released a report revealing that the number of Palestinian and Arabs detainees in Israeli prisons exceeded 7000 detainees. According to the report, statistics collected until February 18, 2005, revealed that there are 7705 detainees imprisoned in 27 prisons and detention centers. 335 detainees are currently detained in Asqalan “Ashkelon” prison, 795 in Nahfa in the Negev desert, 144 in Shatta detention, 855 in Galboa, and 790 in Bir Shiva detention which includes the section of Esheel, Ohaly Qidar, and the new section were 790 detainees are currently held. IOF Arrests Dozens, Storms Prisoner''s House WAFA 3/8/2005 JENIN, March 8, 2005, (WAFA) - Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) broke into Jenin city, in the West Bank and arrested dozens, witnesses said. They told WAFA that massive Israeli troops rolled into Qabatya town amid intensive fire shooting and besieged a number of houses, arresting dozens...In Hebron, IOF stormed a prisoner''s house in the city town of Yatta, shortly before dynamiting explosive devices at the house vicinity, Palestinian security sources said....In Tulkarem, IOF installed a mobile military checkpoint... Report: Israel Jails 310 Palestinian Children International Press Center 3/7/2005 GAZA, Palestine, March7, 2005 (IPC)-The Israeli occupation authorities continue to hold 310 Palestinian children in various prisons, jails and concentration camps, a report issued Sunday by the Palestinian Prisoners Ministry revealed. 202 of the children have been detained in jails within the Israeli boundaries, as 108 have been held in concentration camps Israel has erected over the past four years in the occupied West Bank, the report explained. The ministry''s report accused the Israeli prisons service of denying such juveniles their basic rights and exposing them to severe torture means. Detainees facing daily hardships and suffering from bad treatment International Middle East Media Center 3/8/2005 Raed Mahameed, a lawyer from the Palestinian Prisoners Society, visited several detainees in Galboa detention center. Mahameed reported harsh conditions and serious violations of prisoners'' rights. Mahameed reported that Israeli soldiers are still using the full body strip search policy when transferring detainees to court or between detention centers, in addition to barring dozens of detainees from their visitation rights. The food provided to the detainees is extremely bad quality, forcing those who can afford it to buy all their food from the prison canteen, which sells food at double the normal price. PPS: Minor Prisoners at ''Hasharon'' Suffer Abuse and Oppression International Press Center 3/8/2005 GAZA, March 8, 2005 (IPC) - - A Palestinian Prisoner''s Affairs Society (PPS) report affirmed that minor prisoners at ''Hasharon'' prison suffer continuous maltreatment at the hands of the prison administration, and that their situations have not been alleviated at all, even in light of the recent resumption of the peace process. PPS lawyer Raed Mahameed said after visiting the notorious ''Gilboa'' prison and meeting with several prisoners there that the detention conditions inside the prison didn''t improve at all, as strip-searching is still practiced whenever the prisoner is taken to or returned from court, as well as the prevention of some prisoners from seeing their families and loved ones. News Briefs, March 7-8 , 2005 International Middle East Media Center 3/8/2005 Eight arrested north of Jenin / Three arrested in Tulkarem / Two villages raided, north of Tulkarem / Checkpoint erected in Tulkarem / Resident arrested in Silwad / 30 Palestinian workers arrested in Nazareth / Six Islamic Jihad members arrested near Jenin / Resistance fires at the army west of Nablus / Child killed in Jericho, another injured / Hezbollah: We will not quit our arms/ Detainee from Yatta sentenced to two consecutive years / Soldiers invade two villages east of Nablus / Village raided near Tulkarem Palestinians to resume executions of prisoners Middle East Online 3/3/2005 15 executions of death-row prisoners are due to be carried out by end of March for first time since August 2002. -- The Palestinian Authority is poised to resume executions of prisoners on death row for the first time since August 2002, with 15 due to be carried out by the end of the month, officials said Thursday. Fifteen prisoners currently on death row "will be executed later this month", Palestinian military courts chief Saeb al-Qidwa said. Attacks against female detainees escalate, soldiers use electrified clubs International Middle East Media Center 3/1/2005 Lawyer of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Sana’ Dweik Harbawi, visited female detainees in Telmond detention who informed her about the daily violations they are subjected to. Harbawi said that the detainees are living in an “intolerable hell” expressing fears that situation might yet deteriorate as a result of the continuous violations and bad living conditions. Harbawi stated that detainees Qahera Al-Sa’di, Lina Al-Jarbouni, Raeda Jadla, Dalia Sarandah and Manal Ghanim told her that soldiers attacked, severely punched and clubbed detainee Abeer Odeh; Odeh lost consciousness after soldiers struck her with electrified clubs. News Briefs, March 2-3 , 2005 International Middle East Media Center 3/3/2005 Four children arrested in Beit Sorik / Youth arrested in Tubas / Army closes Nablus-Jenin road / Seven residents arrested in Jenin / Two arrested near Qalqilia / Army invades Nablus and Balata refugee camp / Three arrested south of Jenin/ Israeli soldiers impose curfew over two towns near Jerusalem / Elderly man injured while defending his land / Army erects a military checkpoint near Jenin / Two detainees from Bethlehem given harsh sentences by Israeli courts U.S. rebukes Israel''s human rights YNetNews 3/1/2005 State Department publishes human rights report; says Israel using force on foreign workers; not enough beds and torture and abuse of Palestinian prisoners -- WASHINGTON - The State Department rebuked Israel''s treatment of Palestinian prisoners in its annual report on human rights progress for 2004. The report is primarily based on the state comptroller’s reports and reports from the human rights association in Israel. According to the report, in May of 2004, an official source in the immigration police was quoted as saying police used exaggerated force when arresting foreign workers. News Briefs, Feb 28 - Mar 1 , 2005 International Middle East Media Center 3/1/2005 Four arrested in Qalqilia / Settlers bulldoze fields in Hebron / Resident injured in Hebron / Family farmlands bulldozed in Qalqilia / Israeli army invaded Tubas / Soldiers invade Tammoun / Resident of Bethlehem sentenced to 37 consecutive months / Israeli border guards arrest 13 Palestinian workers / Two soldiers injured east of Modi’in / Soldiers surround Tulkarem / Army closes that entrance of Arraba near Jenin / Soldiers attack a peaceful protest in Beit Sorik, arrest head of village council / Three arrested in Al-Biereh / Detainee from Bethlehem deported to the Gaza Strip / Resident arrested north of Tulkarem / Two villages invaded near Salfit Joint Palestinian-Israeli Condemnation of Treatment of Palestinian Boy in Israeli Prisons WAFA 3/1/2005 TELAVIV, March 1,2005 (WAFA)- Defense for Children International-Palestine Section and Israel Physicians for Human Rights said that Israeli Prison Service (IPS) banned a 14- year- old Palestinian boy in Israeli custody, who recently underwent an operation on the stomach under full anesthesia, to contact his parents....The boy ("R.") has not been allowed to contact his parents since his arrest on 18 October 2004. IOF Arrests Chief Islamic Justice in Jerusalem WAFA 3/1/2005 JERUSALEM, March 1, 2005 (WAFA)- Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested Tuesday Sheikh Tayssir al Tamimi, the Chief Palestinian Islamic Justice in Jerusalem. Al- Tamimi''s attorney Mohammed Abu Ghush told WAFA that IOF arrested the Sheikh, together with other religious judges, after a meeting of the Islamic Board in Jerusalem, leading them all to al-Maskobiya prison in the city. Abu Ghush added that Israeli soldiers prevented him from meeting Sheikh Tamimi, informing him that he would be let into after the Sheikh is interrogated....In the meantime, IOF bulldozers uprooted tens of olive trees in Masha town of the West Bank city of Salfeet, witnesses said. Detainee in solitary since 12 years International Middle East Media Center 3/1/2005 Mohammad Kallab, from Gaza, was arrested 15 years ago, and placed in solitary detention in spite of his psychological problems; Kallab was sentenced to one life term in 1989, and was placed in Ohali Qidar prison in Bir Shiva. In 1993, Israeli prison authorities placed Kallab in solitary imprisonment; Kallab is not aware of the happenings and the surroundings since his a very bad mental state. The Israeli court claimed that Kallab is receiving the needed psychological support, while in fact he is placed in solitary imprisonment; the court decided in 2004 that Kallab should remain in solitary. Progress with no hurdles; impossible International Middle East Media Center 3/1/2005 Following the suicide attack in Tel Aviv, which took the lives of 5 Israelis, Israel’s government froze relations with the Palestinian Authority, halted both the process of transferring West Bank cities and the release of the 400 more prisoners. In practice brought to halt the full process initiated by the Sharm’s summit....For the first time ever, not only the PA condemned the attack as an act of “terror” but also did all Palestinian resistance groups. For the first time ever, an overwhelming majority among Palestinians is clearly standing against such attacks, and is welling to accept for the PA to act against the ones who perpetuated the attack, including arrests and trials. |
E-1: The end of a viable Palestinian state By Jeff Halper, Electronic Intifada 3/31/2005 The fatal flaw in most analyses of the Israel-Palestine conflict is the assumption that if the Palestinians can just get a state of their own, then all will be fine. A state on all the Occupied Territories (UN Resolution 242), on most of the Occupied Territories (Oslo and the Road Map to the Geneva Initiative), on even half the Occupied Territories (Sharon''s notion) - it doesn''t matter. Once there''s a Palestinian state the conflict is over and we can all move on to the next item on the agenda. Wrong. A Palestinian state can just as easily be a prison as a legitimate state that addresses the national aspirations of its people. The crucial issue is viability. Israel is a small country, but it is three times larger than the Palestinian areas. The entire Occupied Areas - the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza - make up only 22% of Israel/Palestine. That means that even if all of the territories Israel conquered in 1967 were relinquished, it would still comprise a full 78% of the country. Would the Palestinian areas constitute a viable state? Barely. Just the size of the American state of Delaware (but with three times the population before refugees return), it would at least have a coherent territory, borders with Israel, Jordan, Syria and Egypt, a capital in Jerusalem, a port on the Mediterranean, an airport in Gaza, a viable economy (based on Holy Land tourism, agriculture and hi-tech) and access to the water of the Jordan River. An accepted member of the international community enjoying trade with its neighbors - and enjoying as well the support of a far-flung, highly educated and affluent diaspora - a small Palestinian state would have a shot at viability.
|
The Treatment of Prisoners and Detainees: Home Page
|
Adalah Adalah (Justice in Arabic) is the first non-profit, non-sectarian Palestinian-run legal center in Israel. The main goal of Adalah’s work is to achieve equal rights and minority rights protections for Palestinian citizens of Israel. Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Organization: Addameer (conscience) is a Palestinian non-governmental, civil institution which focuses on human rights issues. Supports Palestinian prisoners, advocates for rights of political prisoners, works to end torture. Amnesty International Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights. AI’s vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. Amnesty International USA Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights. AI’s vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. Arab Association for Human Rights - HRA The HRA was founded in 1988 to promote and protect the political, civil, economic, and cultural rights of the Palestinian Arab minority in Israel and to further the domestic implementation of international human rights principles. It is an independent non-governmental organisation registered in Israel. Association for Civil Rights in Israel - ACRI In Hebrew - The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) was founded in 1972 as a non-political and independent body, with the goal of protecting human and civil rights in Israel and in the territories under Israeli control. B’tselem The Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories Boycott Israeli Medical Association UK: The Medical Committee for Boycott of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) will document the systematic torture of Palestinian people by agents of Israel. It will publicise the practice in order to bring world opinion to bear on Israel. And it will challenge the Israeli Medical Association which has repeatedly failed to issue advice to doctors who are involved in any way with torture. Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization, supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. Occupation Prisoners News stories and reports about Palestinian prisoners from International Press Center, of the Palestinian National Authority’s State Information Service. Palestinian Centre for Human Rights The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is an independent legal body based in Gaza City dedicated to protecting human rights, promoting the rule of law, and upholding democratic principles in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Palestinian Prisoners Society The Palestinian Prisoner Society is a social and human institution and its members are prisoners inside prisons and released prisoners. Membership is open to every Palestinian prisoner inside and outside prisons who meets the conditions of membership. Physicians for Human Rights - Israel Physicians for Human Rights - Israel (PHR-Israel) was established in 1988 as a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, dedicated to promoting and protecting the medical human rights of all residents of Israel and the Occupied Territories. Public Committee Against Torture in Israel - PCATI An independent human rights organization founded that monitors the implementation conditions in detention centers and continues the struggle against the use of torture in interrogation in Israel and the Palestinian Authority. United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine The main collection contains the texts of current and historical United Nations material concerning the question of Palestine and other issues related to the Middle East situation and the search for peace. World Organisation Against Torture OMCT is today the largest international coalition of NGOs fighting against torture,summary executions, forced disappearances and all other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in order to preserve Human Rights. It has at its disposal a network, SOS Torture, consisting of some 240 non-governmental organisations which act as sources of information. |
About | Action | Articles | Background | E-Mail Us | Events | Home | Letters to Media | Links | News | Search | Top