PRESS RELEASE

 

Release of Palestinian Prisoners

Ref: 90/99

Date: 9 September 1999

This morning, 9 September 1999, the Israeli authorities released 199 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. These included including 98 prisoners from the Gaza Strip, and 101 from the West Bank. This release was carried out under the provisions of the Sharm El Sheik Memorandum, signed on 5 September, which revised the Wye Accords, and set a framework for resuming the negotiations on final status issues.

The Memorandum states “the Israeli government will release Palestinian prisoners who committed their offences before the 13 Sept 1993, and those arrested before 4 May 1994”. Today’s release, which is the first stage of the releases agreed upon in the Memorandum, was to be implemented within a week of its signing, and was to include 200 prisoners. One of the prisoners listed for release, refused to be released due to the fact that he has only one week of his sentence left to serve, and he asked that priority for release under the Memorandum be given to someone else.

A further 150 prisoners are due to be released 8 October. The Memorandum also provides for further prisoners to be released before the month of Ramadan, i.e. by the end of this year.

Though the Memorandum clearly provides for the release of prisoners who committed their offences before 13 September 1993 and were arrested before 4 May 1999, the Israeli authorities excluded from release many prisoners who meet these criteria, on the following grounds:

 

1. All prisoners from Jerusalem were excluded
2. All prisoners from within the Green Line were excluded
3. Prisoners from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad were excluded
4. Prisoners accused of killing Israelis were excluded
5. Prisoners accused of seriously wounding Israelis were excluded

 

The released prisoners were asked to sign commitments stating that they will not practice violent acts or terrorism, that they will not enter Israel without permission, and that the period remaining on their sentence will be considered to be suspended for three years.

While welcoming the release of the 199 Palestinian prisoners, PCHR denounces the classifications imposed by the Israel authorities to restrict the Prisoners eligible in this release operation. Accordingly, PCHR states the following:

 

1. There is no reason whatsoever for excluding prisoners accused of killing or seriously injuring Israelis from the release operation. While it is true that Israelis were killed in the conflict between the two sides, the Palestinian people paid and are still paying the price of thousands of deaths and injuries, as a result of shootings by Israeli soldiers and settlers. If there are Palestinian hands “stained with Israeli blood”, to use the Israeli phrase, there are also many Israeli hands stained with Palestinian blood.
2. Excluding the prisoners from East Jerusalem, particularly, has very deep political implications and this separation of Jerusalem from the rest of the Palestinian territories in this critical and sensitive issue is condemned by PCHR.
3. The Palestinian prisoners from within the Green Line and from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad make up an integral part of the Palestinian prisoners who were arrested during their legitimate struggle against the Israeli occupation. In light of the agreements signed between the Israeli and Palestinian parties, ending the hostile activities between the two sides, they should be released. In this context, PCHR refers to the case of Northern Ireland, where the British government released all political prisoners, without exception, at the beginning of the peace process.
4. PCHR also points out that in previous agreements between the PLO and the Israeli government relating to the release of prisoners, and particularly that of 20 May 1985, these classifications were not used. Neither on the grounds of geographical or political affiliations, nor on the grounds of the nature of offenses committed. Yet now, as the two parties are making an historic reconciliation we find these unjustified and illegitimate distinctions being used.
5. PCHR will continue to struggle, along with other human rights organisations and with all civil society, for the release of almost 1800 Palestinian and Arab prisoners remaining in Israeli jails.

 

 For more information contact:Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

Tel/Fax: (+) 972 7 282 4776 / 282 3725

E-mail: [email protected], Web page: www.pchrgaza.org