EU voices concern about condition of Palestinian prisoners

The European Union has voiced concern about the deteriorating health of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails, calling on the regime to adhere to human rights obligations.

EU foreign policy chief Catherin Ashton said in a statement on Saturday that the bloc was following “with concern reports about the deteriorating health condition” of four Palestinian prisoners “in Israeli detention who have been on an extended hunger strike.”

Ayman Sharawneh, Samer al-Issawi, Jaafar Ezzedine, and Tareq Qaa’dan have gone on hunger strike, one of them for over 200 days, in an effort to demand better conditions including family visitation rights and an end to solitary confinement.

“The EU calls on the government of Israel to allow for the immediate restoration of their family visiting rights and calls for the full respect of international human rights obligations towards all Palestinian detainees and prisoners,” Ashton said.

She also urged the Tel Aviv regime to bring “formal charges” against detainees held under its so-called administrative detention, with a view to bring them “to a fair trial without undue delay.”

“Under international law, detainees have the right to be informed about the reasons underlying any detention and to have the legality of their detention determined without undue delay,” Ashton added.

Administrative detention is a sort of imprisonment without trial or charge that allows Israel to incarcerate Palestinians for up to six months. The detention order can be renewed for indefinite periods of time.

Ashton’s remarks came only a day after clashes erupted between Israeli forces and Palestinians protesting outside a prison in the occupied West Bank during a “Day of Rage” in solidarity with prisoners on hunger strikers.

According to an April 1, 2012 report published by the non-governmental Palestinian Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, at least 4,610 “political” Palestinian prisoners are held in Israeli jails.

Independent sources, however, put the number of Palestinian inmates in Israeli jails at 11,000.