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Belgian Parliament to support Palestinian prisoners

July 2, 2015 at 10:33 am

The Belgian parliament has decided to urgently intervene and push for the release of all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and to end Israeli violations against them. The parliament will also form parliamentary committees to enquire into the detention conditions of Palestinians in Israeli jails.

In a special session on the issue of Palestinian captives held on Wednesday, the Belgian Parliament said the decision comes in the wake of a detailed Palestinian report filed to the Belgian Parliament on the detention conditions of Palestinian that are in violation of international humanitarian law and conventions.

The director of the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission, Issa Qaraqe, wrote in the report that Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails are subjected to war crimes and crimes against humanity such as torture, administrative detention, the arrest of children and lawmakers, medical negligence and unfair trials.

Qaraqe affirmed that Israeli crimes against the prisoners represent “an assault on human justice and the legal principles and culture demanded by the international community,” and that the issue of prisoners is “an international and moral responsibility that obliges everyone to move for the application of international standards and provisions in relation to their rights.”

In the report, Qaraqe called on the Belgian Parliament to assign a parliamentary day to release Palestinian MPs from prisoners and to organise a visit by European Parliamentarians for Palestinian deputies in Israeli prisons, as well as to send commissions to enquire into their detention conditions.

Qaraqe stressed on the need to organise an international campaign to secure the release of captive Palestinian MP Marwan Barghouti and all political prisoners from Israeli prisons.