Sunday September 30, 2007

The Palestinian Ministry of detainees and ex-detainees, released on Saturday a statistical report revealing a noticeable increase on the abduction policy carried out by the Israeli army against the Palestinians since the outbreak of the Al Aqsa Intifada seven years ago.

The ministry affirmed that the Israeli army had abducted around 60,000 residents; around ten thousand and five hundred of them are still imprisoned in Israeli jails, in addition to 543 who are detained before the outbreak of the current Intifada.

Ashraf al Ajrami, minister of detainees and ex prisoners' affairs indicated that President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian cabinet, headed by Dr. Salam Fayyad, are giving the issue of prisoners their utmost care.

The government had refused to sign any political agreement with Israel if the agreement does not include a reasonable schedule that would guarantee that release of all detainees.

The report, which was prepared by Abed al Naser Farawneh, head of the statistics department and a researcher specialized in the prisoners' affairs, noted that since the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967, the abductions were not among a specific category or age but it rather including children, elderly, and women, and that sometimes the abductions included whole families, sick, injured and handicapped.

Some of the residents were abducted from the hospitals and emergency vehicles. Even Ministers and lawmakers were also abducted.

The report clarified that the Israeli forces were not satisfied with only one method of abduction, but applied several methods, including invading villages, cities and refugee camps, ransacking homes whether day or night time.

Sometimes these invasions are backed by armored vehicles, tanks and planes, and are accompanied by firing intensively.

It also noted that the Israeli forces had applied widely the abduction policy through the use of undercover forces, disguised as locals. They turned the crossings and military checkpoints that are spread intensively on the roads and at the entrances of the refugee camps and cities into traps to capture the residents.

In addition to the Israeli military ships that had abducted hundreds of the Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip.

The report added that one of the dangerous methods is using innocent unarmed civilians as human shields while kidnapping other residents.

In most cases, homes and organizations, schools were used as detention centers.

The report also noted that that Israeli army had abducted 700 of Palestinian females during the Intifada, 110 of them are still imprisoned, and also abducted more than 6500 children, hundreds of them are still in the Israeli jails.

Frawanah indicated to the increase of abductions in the seventh year of the Intifada. The Israeli forces had abducted (4523) residents, including (7802) who were abducted within period from 29-9-2006 until 28-92007, with an increase of 72.5 %.

He said that since the Israeli soldier Gilad Shaleet was captured in the Gaza Strip in June 2006 until September 2007, the Israeli army had kidnapped more than nine thousand residents with the average of thirty residents per day.

This is in addition to those and who were abducted for few days or were detained for long hours in public places such as schools, universities, and yards or on the checkpoints or inside the settlements.

Regarding the detainees who died inside Israeli jails, Frawanah said that during the Intifada 86 prisoners died, three of them died out of torture , 15 others died of medical negligence , 50 others were assassinated after being abducted ; the total of all amounted 191 documented prisoners.

Frawanah indicated that the attacks carried out by Israeli army's special units against the detainees were intensified, and that these forces used batons, dogs and tear gas bombs. During these attacks several detainees and prisoners were injured similar to what happened in the detention facilities and centers of Ofer, Gelbou', Netsan and recently in Ramon prison.

He added that several prisons and detention facilities with hard conditions were reopened and others were newly constructed. Several new sections were opened to take the massive number of new prisoners.

Regarding families' visitations to Israeli prisons, the report clarified that they are rare and were lessened in a massive way. Hundreds of the prisoners' families are prevented from visitations for what is labels as "security concerns".

The residents of the Gaza Strip are collectively barred from visitations since four months. The Ministry is working on putting a complete solution for this tragic issue.

In the report Farawneh compared the abductions that were carried out during the first Intifada (1987-1994) the Israeli army had abducted around 200000 of residents at the average of 30 thousand per year.

While during the second Intifada, (2000-2007) the soldiers had abducted around sixty thousand residents at the average of 8500 per year.

He added that the reason behind the difference in the number of abductions between the first and the second Intifada is due to the decrease of the direct and intensive presence of the Israeli forces in some of the Palestinian areas since the Oslo agreement and the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994 which did not enable them from invading all of the cities, villages in the West Bank and the Gaza strip, therefore, the abductions decreased especially in the Strip.

Farawnah also stated that during the second Intifada, the Israeli army had noticeably intensified its targeted killings through firing missile by jetfighters in comparison with the first Intifada.

50 prisoners were killed after being abducted during the second Intifada, which is a violation to the basic principles of Human Rights and is considered a war crimes, and those who are responsible for it should be brought to justice.

At the conclusion of the report, the mister of the detainees' and ex prisoners affairs ,stated that the ministry will make every effort to release all of the detainees, and demanded Israel to abide by the International Law.

Translated by Manar Jibrin - IMEMC News