Palestinian Prisoners’ Club closes offices due to lack of funds

The Board of Management of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club has announced that it is closing its offices in the occupied West Bank, Al-Quds Al-Araby reported on Sunday. Only the main offices in Ramallah and Qalqiliya will remain open.

The head of the Council, Qaddura Fares, attributed the closure to the ongoing financial crisis arising from the fact that half of the funding for the organisation comes from the Palestinian Authority. The PA itself is in the middle of a funding crisis.

Fares said that the organisation, which serves Palestinian prisoners and freed prisoners, has laid off most of its employees due to its inability to pay their salaries. An “emergency plan” has been put in place, he explained, which might enable it to return to its usual level of support with the support of the community, God-Willing.

The PA closed the Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs several years ago under Israeli pressure and has stopped paying stipends to hundreds of prisoners and freed prisoners.

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