WEST BANK, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) has warned of the danger posed by Israeli occupation authorities beginning preparations for a dedicated wing for Palestinian prisoners sentenced to death, including a chamber for carrying out executions, calling for urgent international action to halt the measures.
Abdullah al-Zaghari, head of the PPS, said the move comes as Israel turns legislation and incitement into concrete measures targeting Palestinian prisoners. He described preparations to carry out death sentences against them as a “crime against humanity.”
Al-Zaghari said the Israeli Knesset passed a law in March allowing the death penalty to be imposed on Palestinian prisoners. Under the law, Palestinians convicted of murder before military courts would face a mandatory death sentence unless the court determines that exceptional circumstances justify reducing the sentence to life imprisonment.
Israel 24 reported Tuesday, citing the office of far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, that preparations had begun for the first dedicated wing for Palestinian prisoners sentenced to death, including a special execution chamber.
In a video filmed at the construction site, Ben-Gvir said Israel had fulfilled its pledge to pass the death penalty law and that the death-row wing and execution facility were beginning to take shape.
Al-Zaghari said the measures were also part of Israel’s use of Palestinian prisoners as a “political bargaining chip,” pointing to killings and abuse against detainees.
He added that Israel has for decades occupied Palestinian land and subjected Palestinians to repression and killing, while also targeting religious holy sites, particularly in Occupied Jerusalem.
Data cited by Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations show that more than 9,400 Palestinian prisoners are being held in Israeli prisons, including 92 women and more than 370 children, amid reported torture, starvation and medical neglect.
Al-Zaghari held the international community responsible for allowing abuses against Palestinian prisoners to continue, arguing that “international silence” has enabled Israel to pursue increasingly repressive measures. He said the international community now faces a critical test to halt crimes against prisoners.
He said more than 100 Palestinians have died inside Israeli prisons as a result of torture, assaults, sexual violence, malnutrition and the spread of disease.
Al-Zaghari accused Ben-Gvir of pursuing a policy of revenge against Palestinian prisoners, pointing to his repeated raids on prisoners’ cells and detention areas. He said Israeli measures are intended to strip Palestinian prisoners of fundamental human rights guaranteed under international law.
