Palestinian prisoners’ conditions unjust [Archives:2004/770/Letters to the Editor]

Mohamed Saeed
South Africa
[email protected]
From the way Israel is addressing the prisoner's hunger strike, I would predict that this crisis will soon spill over into clashes with Israeli occupation forces in every Palestinian city. We must all get the word out to all those who can make a difference to demand that Israel takes this issue seriously, and avoids more deaths on both sides of their “Wall of shame”. The treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israel violates both international and Israeli laws, as well as breaching rules governing the administration of Israeli prisons. The prisoners are demanding basic human rights such as: the removal of glass partitions that separate them from visitors; an end to the confinement of children with adult prisoners, and political prisoners with criminals; an end to harsh traveling conditions and obstructions on visiting family members that prolong a 45-minute visit with a few hours of travel, into an ordeal of 16 or 17 hours; an end to humiliating strip searches on visiting family members, even though they are separated from prisoners by a full glass barrier and a wire mesh barrier, etc.
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