Wed 04 Oct 2023 | 04:12 PM
The Permanent Representative of Palestine to the United Nations, Minister Riyad Mansour, has voiced concerns about the treatment of Palestinian child prisoners and administrative detainees in Israeli prisons.
He claims that they are subjected to various forms of physical and psychological harm and are living in deplorable conditions.
In three identical letters sent to the United Nations Secretary-General, the President of the Security Council for the month (Brazil), and the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Mansour highlighted the dire situation faced by thousands of Palestinian civilians.
He also drew attention to the repeated hunger strikes conducted by Palestinian prisoners in protest against their arrests and mistreatment by Israel, the occupying power.
One such prisoner is Kayed Fasfous, who has been on a hunger strike for over two months after being placed in administrative detention without charge since May 2nd. In solidarity with Kayed, over 1,200 Palestinian administrative detainees, including 20 children and four women, have initiated hunger strikes to protest against Israel’s unlawful and inhumane policies.
Mansour squarely placed the full responsibility for Kayed’s life on Israel’s shoulders, once again calling for the release of all Palestinian prisoners and an end to the daily arrests of Palestinian civilians, including nine Palestinian children (aged 8 to 13) who were detained recently in Hebron.
He underscored the fact that Israel, the occupying power, continually violates the rights of children systematically in occupied Palestine, warranting its inclusion on the international list of child rights violators.
Mansour reiterated his call for international protection for Palestinian children and the Palestinian people as a whole, in accordance with international humanitarian law and relevant resolutions concerning the protection of civilians in armed conflict.
Mansour also mentioned the ongoing provocative actions of extremist Jewish settlers that threaten the security and sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Haram al-Sharif compound. These actions include repeated incursions into areas designated for Islamic worship, attacks on Palestinian worshipers, continuous acts of violence, and persistent incitement, including recurrent threats of animal sacrifices that defile this sacred site.
In conclusion, Mansour emphasized the urgent need for the international community to demand accountability for all violations, provocations, and incitement by Israel, the occupying power, and to insist on full respect for international law and the historical and legal status quo in the holy sites of Jerusalem.
He reiterated his call for the international community, including the Security Council, to take serious collective measures to hold Israel accountable for all these crimes.
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