For decades, Palestinians have been slaughtered, displaced, intimidated, humiliated, collectively punished, and denied equal rights as Jews. They've also been mass imprisoned.
Palestine is Israeli occupied territory. Military orders govern all aspects of daily life. Democratic rights are denied. Freedom is a non-starter, persecution a way of life.
Gaza is an open-air prison. The West Bank and East Jerusalem fare little better. Life in Occupied Palestine for about 4.2 million residents is hell. No one's safe from Israel's wrath.
According to the Addameer Prisoner Support group, over 700,000 Palestinians were imprisoned since June 1967. Over 20% of the population was affected. For males, it's 40%. For women, it's about 10,000 and for children around 7,000 since 2000 alone.
No other country comes close to these figures. None calling themselves democracies would dare. With the world's largest prison population by far, America comes closest.
Mostly affected are Blacks, Latinos, and Muslims since Washington declared war on Islam. In America and Israel, praying to the wrong God is hazardous.
Palestinian prisoner numbers vary. Thousands are affected at all times. Virtually all are political prisoners. Arabs aren't welcome in Israel. In Palestine they're equated with terrorists.
Pre-dawn raids, arrests, false charges, harsh interrogations, torture, intimidation, rigged trials, and imprisonment terrorize them. Children young as 10 are affected. So is everyone wanting to live free on their own land in their own country. Perhaps one day, but not now.
Israel holds Palestinians in 17 prisons, four interrogation centers, and another four for shorter-term detentions. All but one are in Israel in violation of Fourth Geneva's Article 76. It states:
"Protected persons accused of offences shall be detained in the occupied country, and if convicted they shall serve their sentences therein."
Proper treatment is also covered. Israel spurns all international law obligations. Palestinian prisoners suffer most.
Military orders divide criminality into five categories:
(1) "Hostile Terrorist Activity"
(2) Disturbance of public order
(3) "Classic" criminal offenses
(4) Illegal presence in Israel
(5) Traffic offenses
Broadly defined ones criminalize "many aspects of Palestinian civic life." For example, belong to the wrong political party and risk prosecution. Displaying a Palestinian flag is criminalized.
Peacefully demonstrating is considered disrupting public order. "Pouring coffee for a member of a declared illegal association can be seen as support for a terrorist organization."
So can dozens of other non-threatening aspects of daily life conducted freely in real democracies. Not in Palestine, and increasingly also risky in America.
Prison life for Palestinians is hell. Horrific conditions include severe overcrowding, poor ventilation and sanitation, no change of clothes or adequate clothing, wooden planks with thin mattresses and filthy blankets, inadequate food in terms of quality, quantity or conformance with dietary requirements, poor medical care, and restricted or no access to family members and counsel, among other abuses.
Isolation is worse. Alone or with one other prisoner, lockdown runs 23 hours daily. Most cells are 1.5 by 2 meters to 3 by 3.5. Little light or air gets in. It's almost like being entombed. International law is violated.
Under Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR):
"All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person."
In or out of prison, Palestinians are denied all rights. The Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners explicitly states isolation for punishment should be infrequent and of limited duration. Under Article 31:
"Corporal punishment, punishment by placing in a dark cell, and all cruel, inhuman or degrading punishments shall be completely prohibited as punishments for disciplinary offences."
The Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners encourage the restriction or abolition of isolation as punishment.
When imposed, strict rules govern treatment Israel spurns with impunity. Whether isolated or part of the general prison population, Palestinians are treated horrifically.
Denied virtually all rights, they use the only one remaining. Refusing food is their weapon of choice. Growing numbers employ it. On April 17, over 1,200 Palestinian prisoners began hunger striking for justice.
Way More Info: It is a long read but it will open your eyes to the hell that is that prison
http://www.opednews.com/articles/2/Israe...7-568.html