RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Palestinians in the occupied West Bank Wednesday rallied to demand the release of prisoners held by Israeli forces without charge and for families to again be able to visit their jailed loved ones.
Relatives have not been able to visit prisoners since October 7, when the Palestinian fighter group Hamas launched a war against Israel in an attack from the Gaza Strip.
Demonstrations were held in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967, to mark Palestinian Prisoners’ Day in cities including Jericho, Ramallah, Hebron and Nablus.
The marches take place every year on April 17, but this year it takes on even more significance as thousands more have been arrested in recent months amid the brutal war in the Gaza Strip, which is separated from the West Bank by Israeli territory.
But in Ramallah, the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, fewer than 200 demonstrators gathered on Wednesday, some holding photos of imprisoned family members, media reports said.
Head of rights group Al-Haq, Shawan Jabarin, said: “The issue of Palestinian prisoners is on everyone’s mind and in everyone’s heart — it should be a shared cause for all.”
The organisers of the rally blamed the low turnout on political divisions in Palestinian society.
Fear of arrest by Israeli forces or repercussions for attending the rally remained another reason for low turnout.
The number of Palestinian detainees and prisoners has risen to over 9,000, compared to 5,200 before October 7, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy group.
After the Hamas attack more than six months back, Israeli authorities announced a state of emergency in the prison system, leading to stricter detention conditions and the end of family visits.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, over 1,000 inmates are being held in what is known as “administrative detention”, which allows the authorities to detain suspects without charge or trial for renewable periods of up to six months.
Amnesty International Wednesday said in a post on X that “among those languishing behind bars are doctors from occupied Gaza who have been seized from hospitals after refusing to abandon their patients”.
It further said also imprisoned are “human rights lawyers, Palestinian citizens of Israel, journalists documenting Israeli violations and students protesting the war,”.
At least 16 inmates have died in Israeli prisons since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on October 7, according to the Prisoners Club which accuses Israel of abusing and mistreating Palestinians behind bars.
According to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, at least 33,899 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive.
