PHR-I Establishes Situation Room on Mass Hunger Strike

8/5/12
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel Establishes A Situation Room on the Issue of the Mass Hunger Strike by Palestinian Prisoners and Detainees held in Prisons inside Israel

Update on Palestinian Hunger Striking Prisoners in Prisons in Israel and Announcement about the Establishment of a Situation Room

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-IL) is establishing a situation room today for the mass hunger strike by Palestinian detainees and prisoners held in prisons inside Israel. The situation room will operate around the clock and work to gather and distribute any relevant information and to enable a public campaign for supporting the demands by the prisoners to respect their human rights. The PHR situation room will gather and provide the maximum information to the families of hunger striking prisoners, their attorneys, physicians, and local and foreign human rights organizations, local and foreign diplomats, national and international media, and the public at large.

The Palestinian prisoners and detainees in the Israeli prisons are holding two primary struggles, by means of open-ended hunger strikes

1 A struggle against administrative detention - this is a struggle started by (former) administrative detainees Khader Adnan, and Hana Shalabi following his strike. To the best of our knowledge, as per today (May 6th) there are 7 hunger-striking administrative detainees who are in very advanced stages of this strike, most of whom are more than 40 days into their hunger strike. Two of the administrative detainees, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh, have been on hunger strike for more than 70 days, and are in imminent risk of death.

The struggle of the hunger strikers protesting the use of administrative detention has been going on for about four months, and has brought public awareness to the topic of administrative detention, in Israel and abroad. There have been recent reports that the Minister of Public Security recommends that the use of administrative detention be reduced. PHR stresses the need for swift action by the government of Israel to prevent the loss of human lives.

2. A struggle for humane imprisonment conditions that respect human rights - a mass hunger strike was started on 17 April 2012, with the participation of between 1,500 and 2,000 prisoners. In recent years, detention conditions have become harsher for Palestinian prisoners, and collective punishment is inflicted on them as a matter of policy, in violation of their basic and legal rights enshrined in both Israeli and international law, and in blatant disregard of international criticism. The situation of Palestinian prisoners has aggravated, and it is currently anchored in various laws and regulations. While Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was held captive, the Israeli government intentionally worsened prisoner conditions in order to exert pressure on the Palestinian leadership. In September 2011, before the “Shalit Transaction” was carried out, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners started a hunger strike to protest against the conditions of their imprisonment. But even after the Shalit Exchange was completed, and after Shalit himself was released, and despite the undertaking by the Israel Prison Service to meet some of the demands of the hunger strikers at the time, the situation has remained as before, and even became worse.

Physicians for Human Rights received a letter from the representative of the Nafha Prison, which announced that the prisoners were joining the mass hunger strikes, and asked the organization for support. In the past few days a general call was issued by the prisoners in Nafha Prison to boycott the Israel Prison Service’s clinics and physicians, and a demand to allow visits by independent physicians on behalf of PHR. We are working to bring an independent team of physicians into the Nafha Prison.

The Primary Demands by the Palestinian Prisoners

• Removal of Palestinian prisoners from solitary confinement, including prisoners who are members of the political leadership.
• Termination of the practice of imprisoning Palestinian prisoners in prisons inside Israel in violation of International Law.
• Renewal of family visits from Gaza, which Israel has been preventing completely for five years now; the renewal of family visits for several hundred Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank whose families are prevented by Israel from visiting, and the removal of obstacles impeding family visits in general.
• Provision of appropriate medical care.
• Termination of the policy of daily cell searches under application of physical force.
• Termination of the policy of strip-searching prisoners and visiting family members.
• Termination of the practice of shackling and handcuffing of prisoners during family or attorney visits and during medical treatment in hospitals.
• Fulfilling the prisoners’ right to an education.
• Termination of the severe and disproportional policy of punishments, as expressed in physical confinement, monetary fines, prevention of family visits, denial of canteen rights, etc.
• Termination of the violation of the basic rights of the Palestinian detainees such as the right to meet an attorney in the course of an investigation, and the reduction of judicial oversight on the process of detention and investigation.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel supports the prisoners’ struggle and their demand for a full respect of their human rights. We are acting on several levels in order to make sure that the prisoners’ rights are maintained in the course of the hunger strike.

Full Statement:
Physicians_for_Human_Rights_Establishes_Situation_Room_8_May_2012.pdf

ENDS

© Scoop Media