In a statement marking the International Day of Solidarity with Prisoners and Detainees in the Occupation Prisons and Secret Detention Centres, the AL decried the brutal nature of Israeli occupation practices and its war of genocide and destruction in Gaza.

The statement noted the expulsion of thousands of Palestinian civilians, including the elderly, women, and children from Gaza, and nearly ten thousand arrests of people from the West Bank, who have been detained in prisons and secret detention centres, marking the most intense arrest campaign to date.

The AL also condemned in the strongest terms the crimes and brutal repressive policies committed by the occupation authorities against prisoners and detainees in prisons and secret detention centres.

These repressive policies are a direct result of the massive brutality against the Palestinian people by the Israeli government in light of the silence of the international community, the AL stressed.

The Arab League called on Arab and international media and Arab, regional, and international human rights organizations to expose the occupation’s violations and inhumane practices, including starvation, thirst, torture, sexual assaults, medical crimes, isolation, and humiliation, which blatantly violate international laws.

The statement indicated that the testimonies of Palestinian detainees released from Israeli prisons and detention centres are shocking, confirming the continued systematic commission of violent torture and inhumane and degrading treatment against thousands of Palestinian civilians.

Furthermore, dozens of cases of the Israeli army using Palestinian civilian detainees from the Gaza Strip as human shields are documented, in addition to many similar cases in the West Bank.

The AL stressed the need for the international community and the Red Cross to bear their responsibilities towards the prisoners and detainees and for human rights institutions and the international community to take immediate action, calling on them to oblige Israel (the occupying power) to implement the Geneva Conventions regarding prisoners.

 It also called on international justice institutions to break their silence and take practical steps regarding the unfolding brutal torture based on collective revenge and dehumanization to which Palestinian prisoners and detainees are subjected.

The AL reiterated its solidarity and absolute support for the Palestinian prisoners, its pride in the Palestinians’ steadfastness, its compassion for the souls of their martyrs, and its respect for their precious sacrifices, expressing its firm belief in the victory of the strong-willed Palestinians in embodying their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.