511 Palestinians serving life terms in Israel jails

Some 511 Palestinian prisoners are currently serving life terms in Israeli jails, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoners’ Centre for Studies said today.

Marking Palestinian Prisoners’ Day which falls today, Riad Al-Ashqar said 15 more Palestinians were handed life sentences last year.

Of those serving life terms, 52 were re-arrested by occupation forces after serving an initial sentence, Al-Ashqar said.

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Life terms which are issued by Israeli military courts, in which all Palestinian prisoners are tried, last 99 years.

Rights groups say that there are about 6,500 Palestinian prisoners inside 22 Israeli jails, including about 400 who have medical conditions which need treatment, 400 being held under administrative detention, 350 minors and 57 women.