PRESS RELEASE

Released @ 12.00 hours GMT 12th February 1997

Palestinian female prisoners released after a 16 month delay

After more than 16 months of delay the Israeli authorities released all but one of the Palestinian female detainees, in the early hours of this morning, 12th February 1997. Their release was long over-due and the delay was a violation of Israel’s commitments under the 1995 Taba Agreement. These prisoners are some of the thousands whom Israel illegally transferred to prisons inside Israel upon the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority in May 1994.

Article 16 of the Taba Agreement contains measures which must be taken by the PNA and Israel in order to foster an atmosphere conducive for the implementation of the Agreement and confidence-building between the Parties. These measures include the release of Palestinian prisoners in three phases. Annex VII of the Agreement specifies that all female prisoners had to be released in the first phase, which was to be as soon as the Taba Agreement was signed in September 1995. However, in violation of its commitments under these provisions, the Israeli authorities refused to release four of the female prisoners. In protest all but one of them refused to leave prison when their release was ordered.

Israel claimed that the release of the four female prisoners had been prevented by a veto from both the President of Israel and the District Military Commander. This was inadmissible as it was inconsistent with Israel’s commitments under the Taba Agreement, which was signed by Prime Minister Rabin, and subsequently ratified in the Knesset, which committed Israel to release these prisoners immediately.

Despite these releases, which includes the four controversial cases, over 3,500 Palestinian prisoners remain inside Israeli detention centres and are reportedly subject to inhumane living conditions and treatment. They are held there in violation of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention which prohibits an occupying state from transferring individuals, including prisoners, from the occupied territory into its own land.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights demands the release of all Palestinian and Arab prisoners held illegally inside Israeli prisons in an amnesty to foster the spirit of the peace process.