Brussels, 12/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - 10 MEPs from the GUE/NGL (European United Left/Nordic Green Left) Group in the European Parliament have written to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton to condemn Israel for failing to comply with international law and for its government's continued holding of prisoners in solitary confinement. The MEPs also call on Ashton to warn Israel that the EU would suspend the association agreement between the two. “Would it not be possible to condemn and to demand once more the Israeli government's compliance with UN resolutions by using the possibility of freezing the association agreement with the European Union considering the flagrant violation of Article 2 of that agreement?” ask Patrick Le Hyaric, Nikolas Chountis, Willy Meyer, Kyriacos Triantaphyllides, Sabine Wils, Dannis de Jong, Bairbre De Brun, Sabine Losing, Paul Murphy, Marisa Matias, Miguel Portas, Elie Hoarau and Jacky Henin in their letter of 10 October. They also demanded “immediate” expedition of an international mission of inquiry to evaluate the conditions of detention of Palestinian prisoners.
The MEPs accuse Israel of keeping Palestinian prisoners in solitary confinement for more than 30 days and depriving them of visits, both in contravention of the Geneva Convention, which Israel has signed. “Palestinian prisoners are often subjected to acts of vengeance on the part of successive governments of Israel”, the 10 claim. They highlight the punitive measures called for by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which include dramatic restrictions on, and even the withdrawal of, family visiting rights, increasing the prison sentence by 20 days for every year spent in jail, increasing the use and lengthening the duration of solitary confinement. “This period might amount to several years and more, up to about 10 years in some cases”, the MEPs state.
They also noted that thousands of Palestinians have been on hunger strike since 28 September in protest against solitary confinement and deterioration in the conditions of their detention. (CG/transl.rt)