Mohammed Mar'i Saudi Gazette RAMALLAH — The state of Palestine completed all preparations to hold international conference on Palestinian and Arab prisoners in Israeli jails, a senior Palestinian official said Saturday. Issa Qaraqi', the Palestinian Minister of Detainees and Ex-Detainees, said that the conference will be held on Dec. 11-12 in the Iraqi capital of Bagdad. Qaraqi' said that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Secretary General of the league of the Arab States Nabil Al-Arabi will open the conference. Qaraqi' said that the conference will be held under the patronage of the Arab League and will be attended be several Arab countries, local, Arab and international human rights organizations. He added that the conference will also be attended by several prisoners released from Israeli jail and children of prisoners held in Israeli jails as well as international law experts. The minister said that the “conference will discuss the legal status of Palestinian prisoners in Israel jails following UN recognition of a Palestine as non-member state and the decision's effects on their issue.” He added that the conference will “demand the international community and the UN Security Council to bear their responsibilities towards Israeli government's measures against prisoners that contradicts with the simplest principles and laws of international community.” “Israel carrying out a series of haphazard measures such as collective punishments, including depriving the prisoners of their rights to high education, the policy of isolating prisoners and preventing their families from visiting them, as well as imposing fines and neglecting their medical treatment are measures that contradict the simple human rights,” the minister said. According to Qaraqi', “Israel does not allow the prisoners to watch five satellite channels, bars the entry of newspapers and magazines into the prisons, obliges prisoners to meet their lawyers with their hands cuffed and separates prisoners who come from the same family.” According to the recent Palestinian statistics, Israel is holding 4,700 prisoners in 23 prisons and detention camps in Israel and in the West Bank of whom 198 children, 8 females, 14 members of Palestine Legislative Council. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Prisoners Club (Nadi Al-Asir) said that 22 Palestinian prisoners have been in Israeli jails for more than 25 years. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had repeatedly said the Palestinians will not sign any final peace agreement before Israel shuts down all its prisons and releases all the Palestinian prisoners, which were rejected by Israel.
