On 5 March, Comhlámh Justice for Palestine will launch a new report examining the conditions facing Palestinian prisoners under Israeli occupation. Titled Prisoners of the Occupation: A Report on the Conditions Facing Palestinian Prisoners Under Israeli Occupation, the publication focuses on a frequently under-reported aspect of Israel’s occupation and the wider system of oppression experienced by Palestinians. The launch will take place at 7pm in Teachers’ Club, Parnell Square, Dublin 1.
Joseph O’Connor, lead author of the research, stated: “This report brings to light the egregious international law and human rights violations inflicted upon Palestinian prisoners, an often overlooked aspect of the illegal occupation of Palestine. They include severe overcrowding, inhumane conditions, deliberate denial of access to medical care and legal representation, and the widespread use of administrative detention. These practices form part of a systematic approach calculated to erode the dignity of detainees. It is essential that these issues receive the attention they deserve to ensure accountability and uphold human rights. The cycle of impunity cannot be ended until consciousness is awoken and mobilised.”
By documenting these abuses, the report highlights the realities of Palestinian detention – and places them in the framework of international humanitarian and human rights law. Drawing on testimonies, NGO and media reports, and legal analysis, it makes clear that these practices are not incidental but systematic. While international monitoring has been obstructed, the evidence consistently points to widespread and deliberate violations.
Diarmuid O’Brien, Comhlamh Justice for Palestine, stated: As a human rights observer working with EAPPI in Bethlehem, I was afforded the opportunity to attend the Military Court attached to the Ofer prison and detention centre. At the court, I witnessed how children appeared before the court, shackled in chains, and had their administrative detention extended on the basis of the prosecutor’s evidence in a secret file that could not be revealed for security reasons, while the family sat in the court upset and not understanding a word of the court’s proceedings that was conducted through Hebrew without interpreters. O’Brien stressed: The testimonies and analysis gathered in the report reveal not only the immense suffering of individuals and families, but also the cruelty embedded in Israel’s policies since its foundation in 1948. Imprisonment is not a by-product of occupation but one of its sharpest instruments. Yet, even in the face of such repression, the voices of prisoners, silenced in the mainstream, carry a power that cannot be contained by walls or bars.”
DOWNLOAD THE REPORT: Prisoners of the Occupation: A Report on the Conditions Facing Palestinian Prisoners Under Israeli Occupation