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Palestinian Prisoners Day
by Stephen Lendman
Nearly all Palestinian prisoners are political ones.
On April 17, Palestinians commemorate Prisoners Day. They do so annually. They've done it since 1979. It marks Mahmoud Hijazi's release. Israel freed him in its first ever prisoner swap.
Addameer honored thousands in Israel's gulag. They're held lawlessly. Now's "the time to hold the Occupation accountable for crimes against the prisoners and detainees," it said.
Freeing them remains a top priority. "Their struggle is central to the liberation of Palestinian land and the return of its people. It represents the frontline of peace and justice."Al Mezan 's Samir Zaquot expressed "concern for the detainees' health and lives and our solidarity with Palestinian and Arab detainees in Israeli prisons, and hold the Israeli authorities responsible for their well-being."
"We strongly condemn Israel's gross abuses of Palestinian detainees, starting with the Unlawful Combatant Law, the policy of administrative detention, and other procedures that violate detainees' rights, including solitary confinement, medical negligence, barring of family visitation, and other practices."
Al Mezan "demands that the international community - especially the signatory parties to the Geneva Conventions - put pressure on the occupying state and force it to respect its obligations under international law, and to treat detainees humanely in keeping with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners issued in 1955, and other relevant international standards."
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