El Arabi says Israel should be prosecuted for abuse of Palestinian prisoners

Egypt’s foreign minister, Dr Nabil El Arabi, has affirmed that the detention of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and the torture and killing of some, “represents a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convection and the principles of human rights and international humanitarian laws”. He added, “These violations require urgent investigation and the prosecution of those responsible for inhumane practices before an international tribunal.”

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Dr El Arabi, who co-chaired a special meeting for Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, May 28, with the Indonesian minister of foreign affairs at the Sixth Ministerial Conference for the Non-Aligned Movement, also asserted that the Israeli occupation “bears responsibility for the continuing suffering of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including hundreds of women and children”. The Egyptian foreign minister stressed that the Non-Aligned Movement “condemns in the strongest terms the inhuman treatment and systematic torture of Palestinian prisoners, which resulted in the death of at least 200 prisoners until now”.

The meeting – which concluded with the adoption of a special declaration for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails – also witnessed the participation of the Chairman of the UN’s Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and representatives of the Organization of Islamic Conference and the League of Arab States.