Brussels, 02/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 1 June, 18 Palestinian and Israeli organisations called on High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton to intervene urgently in order to protest against the continued administrative detention of 125 Palestinian detainees and prisoners - 90 of whom have been on hunger strike since 24 April.
“We, the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and (…) human rights organisations, wish to bring to your attention to the on-going mass hunger strike involving approximately 125 Palestinian detainees and prisoners and request your urgent intervention on their behalf”, these organisations stated in a letter to Ashton on 1 June. “The majority of the hunger strikers are protesting the continued administrative detention, which is detention without trial or charge”, they said, recalling that these administrative detention orders are issued for periods of one to six months and can be renewed indefinitely.
“As of 1 June the majority of the hunger strikers have gone without food for 38 days. We have reached a critical stage and unless there is immediate intervention there will be dire consequences for the health of all those on strike”, the human rights organisations stated. They called on Ashton to “immediately” publicly voice concern over these detainees and over Israel's systematic use of administrative detention. “We firmly believe that Israel's use of administrative detention should cease immediately”, the NGOs added.
In the view of the NGOs, Ashton should also inform the Israeli authorities that hunger strikes are a legitimate form of protest which should not be subject to punitive measures. Following the launch of the hunger strike the Israeli authorities immediately began taking punitive measures against the hunger strikers - isolation from the rest of the prison population, transfer to different prisons and a ban on receiving visitors.
Lastly, the NGOs would like Ashton to put pressure on Israel to honour its agreement of 14 May 2012 - an agreement reached after a hunger strike - by improving detention conditions, stopping the use of isolation as a political weapon, reintroducing access to education for all detainees, as well as twice-weekly visits for Gaza prisoners, and putting an end to the use of administrative detention. (CG)