RAMALLAH – A Palestinian organization on Tuesday said that the Israeli occupation is holding thousands of Palestinian prisoners in its jails. The Palestinian Prisoners Club (Nadi Al-Asir) said in a statement on the occasion of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted on 10 December 1948, that Israeli is holding 5,000 prisoners in its in 23 prisons and detention camps in Israel and in the West Bank. The club said that the prisoners include 200 children, 15 females, 15 members of Palestine Legislative Council, 135 in administrative detention without trial. The organization added that 1400 sick prisoners behind Israeli bars of whom 140 are chronically or terminally ill, and some are on the verge of death. It added that four Palestinian prisoners died due to medical negligence since the beginning of this year of whom three died inside Israeli jails and the fourth died weeks after release. According to the organization, 95 percent of Palestinian prisoners suffered from physical and psychological torture in Israeli prisons and detention camps. It said that while interrogated, the prisoners are subjected to forms of cruel treatment as humiliation, intimidation, shouting, sleep deprivation, prolonged shackling in painful positions, isolation in cells and even beatings. The development comes a day after the Palestinian Authority said that it will not agree to a delay in the release of the third stage of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Nabil Abu Rdaineh, spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a statement that there will be no final peace agreement with Israel without resolving the issue of Jerusalem, the prisoners and all other final status issues. “We will not accept any delays in release of the prisoners and there will be no peace without Jerusalem,” he said. Abu Rdaineh's remarks came after the Hebrew daily Ma'ariv said that US Secretary of State John Kerry decided to delay the third stage “to pressure Abbas to soften his positions on the peace talks with Israel.” For his part, the Palestinian Minister of Detainees and Ex-detainees Issa Qaraqi' said that if there is no delay, the releases are scheduled for about three weeks from now. Qaraqi' told the Voice of Palestine Radio that although there was no confirmation to reports of the postponement, there was American pressure in that direction. The minister said that during Kerry's visit, last week, Abbas told US official that he refused to accept the proposal and made it clear that the matter would negatively affect negotiations with Israel. He added that Kerry's delay is seen as meant to pressure the Palestinian leadership into accepting his proposed Jordan Valley security arrangements. The PA rejected the proposal. Abbas insists that prisoners must be freed in line with to the peace agreements reached with Israel. On July, Israel agreed to a four-stage release of 104 prisoners in order to facilitate the resumption of American-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. In the first stage of the release this past August, 26 Palestinians were freed. In the second stage of the deal this October, 21 prisoners were released. The US State Department announced on Monday that Kerry will visit the area on Wednesday the second time in as many weeks for meetings with Palestinian and Israeli leaders regarding Iran and the ongoing peace negotiations. This will be his ninth visit to Israel since becoming the top US diplomat less than a year ago, as he attempts to patch together an elusive peace deal. Israeli media said that Kerry will be looking to build on a visit last week, after which he proclaimed that the sides were “closer to peace than we've been in years.” The report said that he failed to win over either the Israelis or the Palestinians with a proposed security plan, and there have been no other reports of progress in the talks.
