Documents prove Israel killing prisoners

Head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), Qaddura Fares, says the society has a lot of evidence and documents that prove the involvement of Israel in the crime of premeditated murder against Palestinian prisoners.

This practice led to the death of many of them, as a result of torture during the investigation process as well as medical neglect.

Fares, who testified, in Amman, Jordan, before The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC), on the Israeli occupation authority’s violations in the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, explained that the IOA "pursues, through the prison's administration, systematic policies and procedures that are totally inconsistent with international regulations and laws that ensure the rights and dignity of prisoners.

The Israeli practices constitute blatant transgression of human dignity, which no longer has a moral and human value to the IOA.

Fares added, "you (the ICC) has been prevented by Israel from visiting Palestine so as to see the real bitter reality experienced by the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and to listen to the ex-prisoners' experiences in the Israeli jails, because it knows quite well that the actions it performs against the prisoners are humanly wrong, and fears that these practices might lead to prosecution and accountability; thus we ask you to bear the human and moral responsibility towards that, and insist on visiting these prisons, especially the so-called Ramle prison hospital. "

Head of the PPS detailed to the ICC Committee the ceaseless and ongoing measures practiced by Israel against the prisoners.

Medical neglect

In this context, Fares said in his testimony that medical neglect is the worst and most heinous crime committed by the Israeli occupation authorities against Palestinian prisoners, such crimes resulted in the martyrdom of dozens of prisoners while in the prison or after a few days, weeks, or months of their release.

In this regard, according to Fares, the diagnosis of the prisoners' diseases is neglected; which leads to the exacerbation of the disease.

In addition, some drugs that are unsuitable for human consumption were given to prisoners; they were also given medicines before diagnosis and drugs that have nothing to do with the disease, which has led to negative complications.

The IOA pursues a medical neglect policy through various practices, including: postponing X-Rays and MRIs or necessary tests to diagnose the disease for very long periods, which leads to great suffering and the exacerbation of the disease, in addition to delaying sick prisoners' surgical operations for years, transferring sick prisoners in the "Bosta" a big vehicle, which is like a big iron cage; very cold in winter, hot and stuffy in summer, via which the trip lasts long hours, more than ten hours usually.

Fares pointed to the issue of preventing prisoners from education. In this regard, the Israeli prison service has prevented for five years the prisoners from high school exams, and then blocked their admission into the Hebrew University, although it was permitted for many years after several collective hunger strikes the prisoners staged for that purpose. Furthermore, the occupation authorities put many limitations on the entry of books into jails.

Head of the PSS also spoke at length about prisoner's places of detention, food, clothing, blankets, cleaning materials, and religious practice as prisoners are prevented from religious practice as a type of punitive measure, and that the prison administration does not deal positively with the special requirements of the fasting month of Ramadan, Friday prayers or holidays, in spite of the repeated requests by prisoners.

Regarding the treatment of children and minors, Fares stated that the occupation authorities treat detained children and minors as adult prisoners in terms of the conditions of arrest, interrogation, trial and detention, and there are no special treatment in dealing with them as children, but on the contrary their childhood and their ignorance of the laws are sometimes exploited to pass certain procedures that are not applied on adults.

The ICC delegation listened for three days to testimonies regarding the Israeli crimes related to the issues of settlement, the apartheid wall, the aggression on the Gaza Strip and violations in the occupied territories.