The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday announced its support for the demand of “our heroic prisoners” who are serving jail terms for murderous terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers, to receive recognition as Prisoners of War and treatment which is consistent with international convention regarding POWs. The PA is appealing to states who are signatories to the Geneva Convention to compel Israel to apply its principles to the murderers in its security prisons.
The PA’s announcement praised the steadfastness of those hero prisoners, calling on Arab youth to emulate them.
The PA also demanded an end to administrative detentions based on Shabak information that cannot be proven in court.
As of April 2016, 6,295 non-Israeli Arabs security prisoners are in Israeli facilities, 334 of whom are from the Gaza Strip. An additional 749 Arabs are behind bars for staying in Israel illegally, 14 of whom are from Gaza.