Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) called on a number of official international organisations to form an urgent international committee to inspect the conditions of Palestinian prisoners inside the occupation prisons, and to investigate the escalating and ongoing violations and abusive practices that have been committed against them by the prison administration for more than two weeks.
The letter was sent to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Ramallah, the Office of the European Union Representative (West Bank and Gaza Strip, UNRWA), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories since 1967.
Following the events of October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) launched an intense arrest campaign against Palestinians in the West Bank, accompanied by brutal attacks, beating and insulting detainees and their families during the barbaric raids carried out by the occupation forces on the homes of these detainees.
In its letter, AOHR UK called on the concerned authorities to monitor the conditions of the prisoners and to intensify their visits as there are reliable reports confirming that the prisoners were subjected to brutal torture, which in many cases led to severe injuries, including fractures and bruises.
AOHR UK also shed light on the case of prisoner Omar Daraghmeh, who died two days ago inside Megiddo prison shortly after his arrest following the events of October 7, 2023. The circumstances of his death were suspicious, especially with his family confirming that he was in good health prior to his arrest. The story of him suffering a heart attack is a false story repeated by the Israeli occupation in many death cases of Palestinians inside Israeli prisons.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to conduct an in-depth and transparent investigation to determine his death, and that his body be handed over to his family immediately.
The letter highlighted the inhumane practices committed by the Israeli occupation increasingly over the past two weeks against Palestinian prisoners, including repeated raids on cells, assaults and beatings, deprivation of basic supplies such as food, water, and medication, and cutting off electricity for long hours.
It is worth noting that there are 5200 Palestinian prisoners, including 36 women and 170 children inside Israeli occupation prisons, in addition to 1264 administrative detainees held without official charges, including 20 children and 4 women.
AOHR UK stressed that adherence to international human rights conventions, especially the Third Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war, is necessary to protect the rights of Palestinian prisoners who are considered prisoners of war under international law.
