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Herald Reporter

Palestine has condemned the Israel occupation authority’s acts of collective punishment through brutal raids and attacks towards Palestinian detainees and their family members after six detainees escaped from Israeli high security Gilboa jail.

In a statement yesterday, the Embassy of Palestine in Zimbabwe said Israel had embarked on a terror campaign against the Palestinian administrative detainees and their families by escalating its aggression through brutal assaults, arrests, torture, solitary confinement, denying them provisions such as food and water, among other human rights guaranteed by international law.

“Palestinians live in appalling conditions and are subjected to harsh treatment such as physical and psychological abuse: arbitrary beatings, excessive use of solitary confinement, torture and the denial of family visits,” reads the statement.

There are about 520 Palestinian administrative detainees, 4 650 political prisoners including 200 child prisoners and 40 women.

According to Palestinian statistics, more than 230 Palestinians have died in Israeli occupation jails through torture, medical negligence by Israeli prison officials and real intentions to kill them.

“Collective punishment is prohibited under international law and we call on Israel to free all Palestinian detainees held in administrative detention in Israeli jails without charge in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention,” reads the statement.

Palestine said the raids and attacks against its citizens by Israel were war crimes that required urgent international intervention to protect and “liberate our people.”

“The State of Palestine is disappointed with the international community’s failure to take action against Israeli violations in the occupied Palestinian territories since 1967. We, therefore, call on the international community to condemn and hold Israeli occupation power for its crimes against Palestinians,” reads the statement.