The Commission of Detainees' Affairs confirmed that the detainee Sabe' Titi (33 years) from Balata camp/ Nablus, is going through a hunger strike since 9 days, protesting against his isolation and depriving him of using the canteen.

The lawyer of the Commission, Yousef Mateya, stated after his visit to Remon prison that the administration of prisons still isolating the detainee since a month, where the Israeli forces arrested him in 10/4/2022.

The Salem court sentenced him to 6 months under administrative detention, and renewed the sentence for additional 6 months, under the pretext of a confidential file.

It is worthy to mention that the detainee Sabe' Titi is the brother of the female detainee Aseel Titi, who has been arrested during visiting her brother at Remon prison, under the pretext of committing stabbing attack against a jailer.

The Commission of Detainees' Affairs called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to intervene immediately with the occupation authorities and prisons administration to stop the policy of cancelling family visits.

The Commission pointed out that the Red Cross informed us about the cancellation of family visits in all prisons without any real justification, relating this to the incidents took place at Remon prison during family visits before two weeks.

The Commission stated: cancelling family visits is based on vengeful intentions and aims at manipulating any event in their favour.

The Commission expressed its deep concern about these procedures and practices which increase the suffering of detainees and their relatives, and stopping these actions should depend on humane and legal basis, where the visits should be organized by international sides headed by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The lawyer of the Commission, Mutaz Shqairat, informed that the number of administrative detainees who are conducting a hunger strike increased to 50 detainees, protesting against the unjust policy of administrative detention.

In this context, striking detainees boycott the Israeli courts as a protest step against their administrative detention, where the administration of prisons escalated suppression against them and confiscated the electrical appliances.

In addition, the administration of prisons is practicing a deliberate medical ignorance, and preventing them from having medical checkups.

It is worthy to mention that 30 detainees have started a hunger strike before 17 days, and other 20 detainees out of 800 joined the strike since 3 days.

With the approach of the National day of the Palestinian woman

The Commission of Detainees' Affairs publishes a fact sheet on Palestinian women detainees in Israeli prisons

24/10/2022

The Commission of Detainees' Affairs published a fact sheet highlighting the suffering of women detainees in Israeli prisons, with the approach of the National Day of Palestinian women, which marks 26th of October each year.

This day had been adopted by the Palestinian Council of Ministers in 2019. The Commission pointed out that the Palestinian organisations decided to organise events starting today, where many protests and marshes in solidarity with Palestinian detainees will be held in all cities.

* facts about Palestinian women detainees:

_the total number of detainees in Israeli prisons is 4700

_ 30 women detainees _ 2 women under the administrative detention

_ the first female detainee is Fatma Bernawi, who was detained in 1967 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

_ 2550 women had been arrested since the Oslo Accord

_ 17.000 women had been arrested since 1967

_ the highest rate of women arrests was in Jerusalem with 45% of the total arrests _ 17 women had high sentences, the highest of which goes for ( Shurouq Dwayat and Shatella Abu Ayyad) who were sentenced to 16 years and the detainee ( Aysha Afghani) with 15 years.

_ there is a minor in the Israeli prisons called Nufouth Hammad from Shiekh Jarrah/ Jerusalem

_ There are 6 injured women in Israeli prisons, the worst case is the detainee Israa Jaabees _ there are two women who died in Israeli prisons (Saadeya Faragallah and Fatma Taqatqa.

The Commission confirmed that the Palestinian women participated in struggle over the past decades, and has been subjected to detention and torture such as men, without taking into consideration their privacy.

Women detainees face difficult life conditions in Damoun prison, where cameras still installed in the yard.

In addition, they are detained in rooms with high humidity, and they are subjected to medical ignorance and prevented from family visits under feeble excuses.

The Israeli occupation authorities arrested (445) Palestinians in September 2022, including (35) minors and (19) women, where the highest rate of arrests goes to the city of Jerusalem with (181) arrest cases, including (31) minors and (16) women, followed by Jenin with (59) cases, then Hebron with (55) cases.

(245) administrative detention orders have been issued on September, including (102) new orders and (143) extending orders.

September witnessed an increase in violations and crimes committed by the occupation authorities, such as field executions, the policy of collective punishment and conducting organized arrests which have been accompanied by flagrant violations against detainees and their families.

Detainees' institutions and human rights organizations ( the Commission of Detainees' Affairs,  the Palestinian Society Prisoner's Club, Addameer Association and Wadi Hilweh Information Centre) pointed out that there are currently (4700) Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons,  including (30) women,  (190) minors and (800) administrative detainees of whom two females and six children. 

The detainee Khalil Awawdey pays the price for challenging the jailer and resisting the administrative detention

Awawdeh was born in November 1981 in Ethna town / Hebron. He is married and a father of four daughters (Tulin, Lauren, Marya and Mariam). He was arrested many times under the administrative detention and other rules and he spent 10 years in prison, the last of which was in December 2021 and he has been sentenced to 6 months of administrative detention, his sentence was also extended many times.

Thus, the administrative detention is an undetermined period of detention, which forced the detainee Awawdeh to start a hunger strike on March 3, 2022 in a protest against his administrative detention. He conducted the strike for 111 days, and then he had an agreement with the administration of prisons, but the last broke the promise and extended his arrest for 4 months. He restarted another hunger strike despite his difficult health conditions, in challenge with this arbitrary detention.  In this way, he scored an important victory through which he was able to end his arbitrary administrative detention, shed light on the crime of "administrative detention" and proved the efficacy of the hunger strike weapon as a means of struggle.

In the face of this challenge and the great insistence scored by the detainee "Khalil Awawdeh", the Israeli authorities tried to break his will and take revenge of him and his family and delayed his release.

He is currently held at the so-called Al-Ramla prison. He suffers from severe pains all over his body and unable to walk and uses a wheelchair. He is waiting for his freedom and having the appropriate treatment in the Palestinian hospitals.   

Administrative detainees confronting the crime of administrative detention

30 detainees from the Popular Front decided to enter an open hunger strike in 25/9/2022, in a protest against the policy of administrative detention perused by the Israeli authorities as a punitive measure against Palestinian people. Detainees are deprived of their freedom and held inside prisons without a trial or charges.

Once the detainees announced their strike, the administration of prisons started to impose different punishments against them, represented in isolating them in cells, financial penalties and depriving them of family visits.

Cases in point:

-The detainee Nidal Abu Aker, who spent around 18 years in prison, have been rearrested in 1/8/2022 and sentenced to 6 months of administrative detention, after one month of being released.

-The detainee Thaer Taha, (43 years old) from Ramallah, got arrested for the first time in 1999 before two weeks of his wedding. He was sentenced to three years and a half, and got married after setting him free. However, he was rearrested against and spent around 13 years in prison.

Deprivation of visits,, revenge and collective punishment

The administration of prisons seeks to take revenge from our detainees, aiming to undermine the will and determination of detainees.

The administration of prisons resorted lately to deprive detainees of family visits aiming at taking revenge from detainees and their families, without any justification. Cancellation of visits does not depend on specific events, rather, any small incident can cancel visits in all prisons.thus, practices such that create more stress among detainees and their families.

The lawyer of the Commission of Detainees' Affairs, Fawaz Shaloudi, after visiting him at Ramlah prison, stated that the detainee Awawdeh (40 years old) uses a wheelchair, where he had a problem in the nerves of the brain and the eyes due to the hunger strike he went through.

He entered the hunger strike in 3/3/2022 protesting against his administrative detention and suspended the strike after 111 days upon promises to limit the period of his detention and release him.

However, after suspending his strike he has been sentenced to a new administrative detention rule for 4 months .Thus, he decided to go on a hunger strike until 31/8/2022. An agreement has been made between his lawyer and the administration of prisons to set him free on 2/10/2022.

The Commission of Detainees' Affairs pointed out that the administration of prisons had got around the decision of releasing the detainee Awawdeh, claiming that they will file an indictment against him.

Awawdeh sent a letter by the Commission's lawyer, saying: (I am recovering slowly, my morale is very high and I was not affected by keeping me in prison. I'm satisfied with God's will, and if they sentenced me to the administrative detention again, I won't hesitate to enter a hunger strike. I'm 50 kg now, and I can't walk without help).

The Commission calls on the international community organisations to intervene immediately to release the detainee Awawdeh. It's worth noting that he is married and a father of 4 daughters. He is a former detainee who spent the total of 12 years, including 6 years under the administrative detention.

The Commission of Detainees' Affairs commended the report prepared by the special rapporteur, Francheska Albanees, on human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, which was submitted to the Human Rights Council in its seventy- seventh session.

The Commission stated that the report showed many issues related to human rights, especially the Palestinians right to self-determination.

Moreover, the United Nations confirmed in its report that the right of self-determination is an inalienable right for Palestinian people, and that recognizing the Palestinian struggle by the General Assembly to regain the right of self-determination represents a significant recognition of Palestinian national resistance.

In this context, the Commission called for implementing what has been provided in the report to refute the Israeli narrative and reinforce the legal status of the Palestinian detainees and the legitimacy of their resistance .

The Commission also pointed out that the report has highlighted the collective arbitrary arrests, administrative detention, and arresting children, ministers, teachers and human rights defenders.

The Commission considers this report as a significant bill which contains confirmations on the Palestinians right to self-determination and resistance.

Moreover, the report included many paragraphs and frank statements denouncing the collective arbitrary arrests and the administrative detention without charges or trials. The Commission pays tribute to all efforts done in this context, especially the diplomatic and official levels, and the role of human rights organisations, in addition to the popular role and hunger strikes which affected the international public opinion.

The Commission called on the concerned authorities to invest in this report and build on it in order to practice pressure against the Israeli authorities to respect the international law when dealing with the Palestinian people, especially detainees .

The Commission of Detainees' Affairs called on the international community to intervene immediately to put an end to the policy of murder and execution committed by the occupation authorities against the Palestinian detainees.

The Commission stressed on the need for the international community to stick to their humane obligations towards the Palestinian people, and practice their power and authority to hold the Israeli terrorism.

The Commission pointed out that the ongoing attack against our detainees, including torture, murder and medical ignorance, led to an increase in the number of martyrs of Captive Movement.

There are currently (232) martyrs from the Captive Movement, the last of whom is the martyr Maher Ghawadreh.

(73) detainees have martyred due to torture, (73) due to medical ignorance, (79) due to deliberate murder after arrest and (7) after shooting them inside the prisons. In addition, there are hundreds of former detainees who died after getting released due to illnesses they got in prison because of torture and medical ignorance.

The Commission sends a public message to the whole world saying: you are partners in these crimes as long as you keep silent.

The occupation authorities issued (1610) administrative detention orders so far this year. (30) administrative detainees are currently on hunger strike for (12) days , as an option that does not have an alternative, in protest against their administrative detention.

The Commission of Detainees' Affairs illustrated that the occupation authorities have issued (245) orders of administrative detention last September, with (1610) orders so far this year.

The Commission stated that the administrative detention orders included (723) new orders accounted for around (44.9%) of the total number, and (887) renewal orders accounted for (55.1%) of the total orders.

The Commission demonstrated that the number of administrative detention orders of this year has exceeded the the orders of last year (2021), which recorded about (1595) orders. This means that there is an obvious increase in administrative detention orders.

The Commission of Detainees' Affairs called on the Palestinian people to stand by the administrative detainees and support them in their ongoing battle against the policy of administrative detention.