Statement from the World Federation of Trade Unions
Call for international solidarity with Palestinian
political prisoners on hunger strike
Over 7000 Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli prisons began a hunger strike on August 15 to protest against the inhuman conditions in Israeli jails, the brutal repression by the jail authorities, the gross violations of their basic human rights and to put an end to their unfair and illegal imprisonment. The atrocities and acts of oppression against the Palestinian prisoners include: * Arbitrary and indiscriminate beating of prisoners in their cells, in prison courtyards and during transportation to and from prisons * Arbitrary and indiscriminate firing of tear gas into prisoner's cells and prison courtyards and intimidation of prisoners by guards entering their cells with guns * Humiliating strip searches of prisoners in full view of other prisoners and guards each time they enter or exit their cells * Subjecting prisoners to solitary confinement for excessive periods of time, for months and even years * Arbitrary imposition of financial penalties on prisoners for minor infractions, arbitrary revocation of visitation rights and extended confinement to cells as punishment for minor infractions such as singing or speaking too loudly * Confining children with adult prisoners and political prisoners with criminals * Withholding or delaying medical treatment and the provision of medication to sick detainees * Severely restricting the category of family members entitled to visit prisoners thus denying visitation rights to other close family members * Arbitrary denial of travel permits to family members of prisoners living in the West Bank or Gaza so that they cannot travel to the prisons to see their relatives * Imposing conditions on travel for family members and obstacles that result in travel of a few hours being prolonged to 16 or 17 hours for a 45-minute visit * Conducting humiliating strip searches of visiting family members even though they are usually separated from the prisoners by a full glass barrier as well as a wire mesh barrier * Providing such poor visitation facilities that prisoners find it difficult to see or hear their loved ones * Maintaining prisoners on near starvation diets that are insufficient to sustain health * Applying rules concerning items that prisoners may receive from their families arbitrarily and inconsistently, on the whim of the guards, with each visit * Withdrawing study privileges that in the past allowed prisoners to continue their high school or university studies through correspondence courses As the Committee for the Families of Political Prisoners and Detainees in the West Bank has pointed out, the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israel violates both international and Israeli laws, as well as rules governing the administration of Israeli prisons. The WFTU appeals to trade unions and democratic organisations all over the world to observe September 4 as an International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners and urge the UN and Member Governments to compel the Israeli authorities to end the brutal repression unleashed on the Palestinian political prisoners and to release the prisoners immediately.