On the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, on Friday, the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, asserted that Palestinians will not sign a final peace deal with Israel, unless Israel clears all it’s prisons of Palestinian prisoners, which he called heroes and fighters for freedom.
In a statement he issued Thursday night, Abbas stressed the point “Palestinian prisoners are on top of our priorities, in spite of all other challenges that Palestinians have been facing in their quest for their inalienable legitimate rights”.
His statement further noted “We would extend our warmest greetings to those prisoners, who have sacrificed many years of their lives, for the sake of freedom and the realization of a Palestinian statehood, with East Jerusalem as its capital”.
The president also called on the international community, including right groups, United Nations, and key countries, to pressure the Israeli government to make every possible effort to ensure the safety of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, under the threat of the internationally-spread Coronavirus pandemic.
Abbas held the Israeli government responsible for the well-being and safety of all those Palestinian prisoners, particularly women, children and those with chronic diseases.
Palestinian Prisoners’ Day is an annual occasion, in which Palestinians bid support to and solidarity with around 5,000 Palestinian prisoners, who Israel continues to hold in more than 20 Israeli prison facilities and detention centers, across the occupied Palestinian West Bank and Israel.
Palestinian prisoners’ file remains one of the most contentious issues of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks that were kicked off, right after the signing of Declaration of Principles, known as Oslo Peace Accords, in Washington, D.C. back in 1993.
Image: Samidoun
