The Palestinian Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission says “repeated transfers” and isolation of Barghouti “are part of the targeting of all prisoners since October 7 (…) in addition to systematic torture practices.”
Prominent Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti has been moved from solitary confinement in the Rimonim prison to solitary confinement in the Ramla prison, according to the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission.
The “repeated transfers” and isolation of Barghouti “are part of the targeting of all prisoners since October 7 .. in addition to systematic torture practices,” said Qaddura Fares, the head of the Prisoners Commission, in a statement on Sunday.
Marwan Barghouti Moved to Solitary Confinement amid Claims of Uprising
On Wednesday, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir confirmed his transfer to solitary confinement saying, “I’m glad that the Israeli Security Service is implementing my very clear policy towards terrorists in prisons.”
He added that Barghouthi was transferred “following information about a planned uprising,” without providing further details.
Fares said the transfers, in addition to preventing his lawyers from visiting him, “raise real concerns for his life.”
This, he added, is especially so as “it coincides with direct and ongoing incitement against him in the Israeli media.”
Fares called on international institutions and relevant local bodies to intervene in Barghouti’s situation, and “stop all unprecedented measures and violations against prisoners” that’s been happening “for decades.”
‘Palestine’s Mandela’
Born in the West Bank village of Kobar, Barghouti is a popular political figure and leader in the Fatah movement, currently serving five life sentences on murder and terrorism charges.
He participated in the First Intifada in 1987 and was one of the most prominent faces of the Second Intifada in 2000.
Dubbed the Palestinian Mandela, Barghouthi was arrested and exiled on several occasions and subjected to failed Israeli assassination attempts.
In spite of his incarceration, since 2002, he has a large following and numerous polls show that, should Palestinian elections be held, he would likely be chosen president of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Increased Arrests in West Bank
Meanwhile, the Prisoners Commission said on Saturday that the number of Palestinian prisoners in the West Bank has risen to 7,060 since October 7.
“The Israeli army arrested at least 20 citizens from the West Bank in the past 24 hours including a woman from Nablus, former prisoners, and members of the family of a Jerusalem martyr,” the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.
According to the statement, most of the arrests took place in Hebron, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Nablus, Jenin and Salfit.
Israel has arrested more than 7000 Palestinians in the West Bank since Oct 7. The arrest figures include 220 women & 440 children, while 53 journalists have also been detained in that time. At least 8 Palestinians have died inside Israeli prisons. Israel, shame of humanity. #Gaza pic.twitter.com/PUgDeCPl1w
— "Solidarity is a verb" (@SaveSJarrah) February 14, 2024
The two groups reportedly pointed out “wide-scale acts of torture, brutal beatings, threats against prisoners and their families, in addition to widespread acts of sabotage and destruction in citizens’ homes, and the confiscation of funds and vehicles.”
The number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails exceeds 9,000, including 3,484 administrative detainees and 606 classified as “non-regular fighters,” who are detainees from Gaza, according to data until the end of January from the two groups, Anadolu reports.
Administrative detention is a measure of imprisonment under Israeli military orders alleging security threats without a charge sheet, extending for six months that is often renewed.
More than 28,000 Killed
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 28,985 Palestinians have been killed, and 68,883 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
(PC, AA)
Let’s hope and pray that Mr. Barghouti will obtain freedom soon and led the Palestinian Authority to unity and rule their nation with justice.