Israel Arrested Over 12,000 Palestinians Since Start of Gaza War, Official Tells AWP
(AWP) - Qadura Fares, the President of the Palestinian Commission of Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs, said that Israeli authorities have arrested more than 12,000 Palestinians since the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
Fares said in an interview with AWP, “From what we were able to accurately track and the figures we’re responsible for, Israel made 9,600 arrests in the West Bank, Jerusalem and within the 1948 territories. In the Gaza Strip, more than 15,000 prisoners were arrested, most of whom were released, according to our estimates. Due to the policy of forced detention or the crime of forced disappearance that our people in Gaza are subjected to, the number of those still detained [in Gaza] is about 2,500. Therefore, the total number of prisoners is 12,000.”
Fares described the lives of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention centres as “collectively in danger” due to the Israeli practices against them.
He explained, “As for the crimes committed, the evidence supporting our claims is this large number of martyrs, and this large number [of prisoners] in the thousands with wounds, fractures, bruises and breaks.
These images that have begun to emerge from prisons are horrific and are a result of the series of crimes being committed inside detention centres. What concerns us more is that this has been going on and on for 9 months, and now we have entered the tenth month, which has put the prisoners’ lives collectively in danger.”
Fares also pointed out the need for an international will to prevent Israel from continuing its practices against Palestinian prisoners.
He similarly stressed the importance of the meeting held by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates and the Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs with foreign diplomats accredited to Palestine to exert pressure in this direction.
He continued, “The importance of this is, firstly, for the world to know the details, and secondly, for holding accountability. We asked them today whether there are tools, institutions, structures, and legal texts that can ensure Israel is prevented from doing this. And we answered, yes, these institutions exist, but the question is, is there an international will to do this? The answer is no, because if there were an international will, Israel would not have gone this far.”
Fares concluded, “We called on them to take measures against Israel, to further recognise the State of Palestine, and to further isolate the occupying state until it understands that its project is a losing project. Otherwise, one should not bet on an awakening of conscience in a group of fascist cliques that rule the occupying state.”