Gaza resistance factions show solidarity with prisoners

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Palestinian resistance factions on Monday staged a demonstration in Gaza City to show solidarity with Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails.

The demonstration -- organized by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -- saw participants waving banners reading, “We haven’t forgotten our imprisoned brothers and sisters”.

Addressing protesters, Nahed al-Fakhouri, director of the Hamas-run Prisoners Information Center, said: “We’re here today to show support for our jailed brethren, who continue to suffer oppression at the hands of Israel’s occupation.”

Al-Fakhouri went on to assert that surveillance cameras had recently been installed in the female prisoners’ ward of Israel’s Hasharon Prison -- a move he described as “a clear violation of their privacy”.

He called on international rights organizations to “assume their responsibilities and address ongoing rights violations in Israeli prison facilities”.

On the demonstration’s sidelines, leading Islamic Jihad member Ahmad al-Mudallal told Anadolu Agency: “Palestinians in Israeli custody, especially women, remain subject to systematic violations, including Israel’s policy of administrative detention”.

Under Israel’s longstanding policy of “administrative detention”, suspects can be held indefinitely without trial or charge.

“The surveillance cameras are only the latest violation of the rights of female prisoners,” al-Mudallal said.

He added: “We cannot remain silent to the occupation’s continued crimes.”

According to Palestinian figures, some 6,500 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli prisons, including scores of women, roughly 350 minors, and at least six lawmakers.

Reporting by Hidaya al-Saidi; Writing by Ali Abo Rezeg