Tulkarem / PNN - Dozens of relatives of political prisoners in Israeli jails gathered in the West Bank for their weekly protest.
Palestinian families routinely sit-in for a joint effort to bring justice for their loved ones held indefinitely in the prisons of the occupying forces.
The scene is the International Red Cross in the northwestern West Bank city of Tulkarem. City and state officials join relatives, as was the case this week.
Framed photographs are the norm, resting in the laps of devastated mothers, an overwhelming number of whom say their dying wish is to see their imprisoned sons.
The suffering of Palestinians imprisoned in sub-standard conditions contravenes the norms laid out by international law, says the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society and other human rights institutions including the Mandela Society.
Representatives of political parties were on hand this week along side the public and private institutions to support the struggle of Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli prisons are notorious for their devastating conditions and treatment, including solitary confinement and torture, both physical and mental.
The families in Tulkarem this week said that their goal is to support the steadfastness of their loved ones and the political prisoners’ movement both here and abroad.
The International Red Cross is being asked to do more to put an end to the suffering, including intervening to allow medical treatment for hundreds of Palestinians.
High prices in the prison stores for basic needs such as soap and food are also of issue along side the inherent desire to take the secondary school exams. The right to education takes on a major part of the struggle each spring when thousands of other young Palestinians take a test in order to complete high school.
Youth make up a heavy portion of the 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners currently in Israeli jails.
