The African Union’s Pan African Parliament today issued a declaration in support of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli prisons and slammed Israel’s controversial detention policies.
#HungerStrike
The pro-Palestinian motion was presented at the parliament’s headquarters in Midrand, Johannesburg, by Faysal Tebbini, a Tunisia representative to the Pan African Parliament, who urged legislators to pile pressure on Israel and force it to abide by international laws regarding treatment of prisoners.
The motion received overwhelming support from legislators with a number of them condemning Israel’s settlements policy, arbitrary arrests and the treatment of prisoners.
We express our unconditional support to all prisoners in the prisons of the occupying forces, including members of the Palestinian parliament, led by the freedom fighter, Marwan Barghouti
the declaration read.
Bashir Ali, a representative of Sudan, said the African Union rightly condemned the Israeli occupation of Palestine since it represents the voices of African people who once faced injustices under colonialism.
Read: Hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners struggling to stand
Gabriel Smith, a legislator from Liberia, called for a fact-finding mission to Palestine.
On 17 April, more than 1,500 Palestinian political prisoners incarcerated in Israeli prisons embarked on a hunger strike. A further 100 prisoners have now joined the protests.
The inmates are demanding the lifting of restrictions on family visits, better medical care, improved treatment of female prisoners, an end to the use of solitary confinement and an end to the use of administrative detention, detention without trial or charge.