Media figures, legal experts, and released prisoners stressed the need to keep the issue of Palestinian prisoners present in national and international consciousness, considering it an ongoing responsibility that is not linked to specific seasons .
This came during a dialogue seminar organized by the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate at the Solidarity Media Center in Mawasi Khan Younis, on Saturday, under the title “Prisoners and those wanted by the media and legal authorities,” on the occasion of Palestinian Prisoner’s Day .
The symposium opened with a speech that stressed that the sacrifices of the prisoners are beyond the ability of words to describe, emphasizing the importance of continuously highlighting their suffering and the years of their lives they have given in defense of the Palestinian cause, in light of the escalating violations inside the occupation prisons .
The media and its role in keeping the issue alive
The deputy head of the journalists’ union, Tahseen Al-Astal, said that “the issue of prisoners must remain permanently present in the Palestinian media,” noting that the media is an essential tool in conveying the suffering of prisoners to the world .
He added that “what is required today is to intensify media coverage and enhance the presence of the Palestinian narrative in a way that keeps pace with the scale of sacrifices inside the occupation prisons, especially in light of the blackout and attempts to obscure the truth .”
For his part, Raafat Al-Qudra, Director General of the Broadcasting and Television Authority in the southern governorates, affirmed that the official Palestinian media deals with the issue of prisoners as an integral part of the national identity, saying: “The issue of prisoners is not a passing news item, but rather a daily presence in our media discourse, and a national and moral duty that cannot be abandoned .”
Testimonies from inside prisons
For his part, the released prisoner Jihad Ghabban reviewed his experience, which lasted for more than 23 years in the occupation prisons, stressing that the conditions of the prisoners have witnessed an unprecedented deterioration, especially after October 7, 2023 .
Ghabban explained that the occupation has withdrawn many basic rights, including food, clothing and health care, in addition to severe overcrowding inside the rooms, and preventing the most basic elements of human life .
He said: “The lives of prisoners today have turned into a harsh daily suffering under systematic retaliatory measures aimed at breaking their will and undermining their dignity .”
Serious legal violations
In the legal context, the Secretary of the Bar Association, Ziad Al-Najjar, stressed that what the Palestinian prisoners are subjected to constitutes a flagrant violation of international law, especially the Geneva Conventions .
He pointed out that the occupation treats prisoners as “security prisoners” and not as prisoners of war, in clear violation of international laws, noting that the trials conducted against them lack the minimum standards of justice .
He stressed the importance of activating international legal pathways to hold the occupation accountable, calling for the documentation of violations in a professional and systematic manner to present them before international bodies and courts .
For his part, Alaa Skafi, Director General of the Al-Dameer Foundation for Human Rights, said that the occupation has escalated its repressive practices against prisoners, including torture and enforced disappearance, especially after the recent aggression against the Gaza Strip .
He explained that there are detainees being held without disclosing their fate, in addition to some of them being used as human shields, in a serious violation of international humanitarian law .
Calls for comprehensive action
The symposium concluded by emphasizing that the issue of prisoners requires a unified national effort, combining media, legal and human rights work, in order to keep this issue alive in the public consciousness, and to expose the practices of the occupation and hold it accountable internationally .
The participants also called for strengthening the role of the media in conveying the Palestinian narrative and highlighting the suffering of prisoners and their families on an ongoing basis .
The event concluded with a solidarity stand in which a number of journalists, lawyers and released prisoners participated, confirming the continued support for the prisoners’ cause and rejecting the violations against them .
A worsening reality and alarming figures
Data from institutions specializing in prisoners’ affairs indicates that the number of Palestinian detainees in the occupation’s prisons has witnessed a significant increase since October 7, 2023, amid widespread arrest campaigns that affected various governorates of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip .
According to these figures, the number of prisoners currently exceeds 9,500, including women and children, in addition to hundreds of administrative detainees held without charge or trial .
In a related context, journalists were not spared from arrest campaigns, as 149 journalists have been arrested since the beginning of the war, 43 of whom are still under arrest, in a dangerous indication of targeting media work and attempting to restrict the transmission of the truth .
The prisoners also suffer from harsh detention conditions, including food and medicine shortages, denial of visits, and the spread of diseases within prisons as a result of overcrowding and medical neglect, making their case one of the most prominent and urgent humanitarian issues that requires immediate action at the legal and international levels .
Despite all the challenges, the issue of prisoners remains a constant theme in the Palestinian conscience, and a living testament to ongoing suffering that requires constant effort to end it and achieve freedom for them .
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/W.A
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