The embassy of the State of Palestine in Harare has called for the release of Palestinian detainees who are held captive in Israeli detention centres.
The Embassy accused Israel of using repressive means to silence Palestinians, including Hisham Abu Hawash, who went on a hunger strike 114 days in protest against the Apartheid style of repression
Below is the full statement from the Embassy.
The embassy of the State of Palestine condemns the abominable Israeli occupation state’s practice of administrative detention that the occupying power uses as a tool of repression against Palestinians, and we call for the immediate release of all Palestinian detainees including Hisham Abu Hawash languishing in hospital after an extensive hunger strike for 141 days which teetered him close to death this week
Hisham Abu Hawash, a father of five began refusing food in August to protest Apartheid Israel state’s holding of him without charges or trial practice of arresting suspects for renewable six-month terms without allowing them to view the charges or evidence against them.
Today, in a clear violation of international law, Israel continues to use administrative detention to imprison more than 4600 Palestinians (1595 in 2021 only) including minors and elderly without charges, trials or convictions, all based on so-called “classified secret information” that the detainees have no access to.
They have no recourse to challenging these undisclosed allegations, and they do not know when, or if, they are going to be released. This arbitrary detention is strictly prohibited under international law, including international humanitarian law.
The occupying power persists in its pervasive violations of international law and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to freedom, justice, and self-determination because of the utter failure of the international community to hold Israel accountable for its egregious violations.
This collective international failure has allowed Israel to, among other crimes, shatter the lives and rights of tens of thousands of Palestinians victimized and persecuted through administrative detention.
While we welcome the statement from the European Union which expressed grave concern over the health of the detained Hawash, The State of Palestine is disappointed with the international community’s failure to act against the Israeli violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.
We, therefore, call on the progressive peoples, governments and human rights organizations to condemn and push for the immediate release of detained Palestinians and work to end this monstrous practice once and for all.
