48 Palestinians have been serving prison sentences of over 20 years in Israeli jails 12 among them have been incarcerated for at least 30 consecutive years.
According to researcher Reyad al-Ashkar from the Palestine Prisoners Center for Studies half of those who appear on the list of the oldest-serving Palestinian detainees have spent over 25 years in Israeli dungeons.
The list includes 29 detainees locked up in Israeli prisons since before the Oslo Accords struck in 1994. Such a batch of detainees arrested during the First Intifada of 1987 should have been released by 2013. However the Israeli occupation authorities reneged on their pledge.
Al-Ashkar called for the need to speak up for the detainees many among whom have not been able to bid farewell to one of their children parents or relatives nor attend their sibling’s wedding.
Al-Ashkar also stressed the need to mobilize efforts and campaigns so as to release the longest-serving Palestinian detainees who have spent more than half of their lifetimes behind Israeli prison bars.
The activist raised alarm bells over the dire detention conditions and deteriorating health status endured by the detainees as a result of preplanned medical neglect in Israeli lock-ups.
