Increase in number of Palestinians who served more than 25 years in Israeli jails

On Monday, it was reported that the number of Palestinian prisoners who have spent longer than 25 years behind bars in Israel has now reached twenty five.

The researcher on the issue of Palestinian prisoners, Reyad al-Asqhar, has said that Mahmoud abu-Kharabish, 48, from Jericho has recently joined the list of Palestinian prisoners who have spent longer than 25 years in Israeli prison.

Abu-Kharabish was detained in March 1988 and sentenced to life. Israel refused to include him in the prisoner swap deal reached last year’s between Israel and the Palestinian resistance.

The researcher has pointed out that Abu-Kharabish suffers from several diseases and has been admitted to al-Ramla prison clinic several times over the last year. However, he has not received proper medical treatment.

Al-Ashqar also mentioned that fourteen prisoners from the West Bank, eight from the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948, two from the Gaza Strip and one from Jerusalem have spent more than 25 years in Israeli jails.

Calling on media to highlight the suffering of these prisoners, Al-Ashqar said, “Those who have spent more than 25 years of their life inside the prisons of the occupation were excluded from the prisoner swap last year.”

He also called on media “to reveal the crimes of the Israeli occupation which has detained these prisoners for decades under harsh conditions.”