Palestinian Prisoners’ Day is commemorated each year on April 17—a date approved in 1974 by the Palestinian National Council as a national day dedicated to the freedom of prisoners and support for their rights.
The date was chosen because it marked the release of prisoner Mahmoud Bakr Hijazi in the first prisoner exchange between the Palestinians and Israel.
In late March 2008, the 20th Arab Summit in the Syrian capital of Damascus approved the adoption of the day in all Arab countries, in solidarity with Palestinian and Arab prisoners held by Israel.
According to the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees, there are now 4,900 prisoners in Israel, including 31 women and 160 children.
That includes about 1,000 prisoners placed under administrative detention, meaning they are held without trial and any “evidence” against them is withheld.
There are also more than 20 prisoners who were arrested prior to the signing of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1993. The longest serving, Muhammad al-Tus, has been behind bars since 1985.
Palestinians have long criticized Israel for the conditions in its prisons. According to the Commission, 236 people have died in Israeli prisons since 1967, while hundreds more died after release from diseases that struck them while incarcerated.
The suffering of sick detainees is one of the main humanitarian concerns, with more than 700 detainees suffering from various illnesses, including at least 24 suffering from cancer and requiring intensive healthcare.
arrests this year
Over the past year, there have been near-daily arrests in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem as Israel ramped up its raids.
Since the beginning of 2023, 2,300 arrests have been recorded by prison institutions, including 350 children, mostly from Jerusalem, and 40 women and girls.
Inside the prisons
Human rights organizations and prisoner organizations say conditions in Israeli facilities are harsh. They cite refusal of visits, psychological and physical torture and medical negligence, preventing sick prisoners from receiving proper treatment.
In addition, solitary confinement policies have escalated significantly since 2021, with around 35 Palestinian prisoners now in solitary confinement, including those suffering from chronic illnesses.
The Israeli Prison Service has defended its treatment of Palestinian prisoners in the past, saying its policies are completely legal.
Israeli authorities continue to ban family visits for some prisoners, with a particular focus on those from Gaza.
Prisoner protests
Throughout February and up to March 22, Palestinian prisoners staged a series of protests against Israeli prison policies after a new set of measures was announced by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The measures have severely limited the lives of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, including limiting the amount of water they can use, the number of hours they can shower and their access to bread.
The protest finally ended when the prisoners reached an agreement with the Israeli prison service.