On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.. Addameer calls for the immediate release of all Palestinian political prisoners, and the complete dismantlement of the illegal military court system
November 29th marks the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. This day holds profound significance, as it provides an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the Palestinian cause, particularly the ongoing struggle for justice, freedom, and dignity. This year, as the deadliest ongoing genocide against our people unfolds before our eyes, we are reminded of the failure to implement international law and the fact that many countries continue to allow the Occupying State, Israel, to perpetuate its heinous crimes against Palestinians with impunity and zero accountability. Alongside this brutal genocidal war, it is essential to focus attention on the critical issue of Palestinian prisoners, whose suffering under the Israeli occupation has reached unprecedented levels.
Palestinian prisoners symbolize the resilience, struggle, and aspirations for freedom that define the broader Palestinian liberation movement. The mass incarceration of Palestinians serves as a deliberate tool of the Israeli occupation to suppress dissent and fracture Palestinian society. Since 1948, over 900,000 Palestinians have been detained, representing a significant portion of the population. The use of administrative detention—where individuals are held without charge or trial—exemplifies how imprisonment is weaponized to silence and intimidate.
Palestinian prisoners represent every segment of society, including men, women, children, politicians, academics, and activists. Many are regarded as political and thought leaders of the resistance movement, embodying the Palestinian people’s aspirations for freedom. The sacrifices of those who have died due to neglect or mistreatment in custody further strengthen the resistance and highlight the profound cost of the struggle for liberation.
Since the escalation of violence and the start of the genocide following October 7, 2023, there has been a stark increase in the number of prisoners, including women, children, and elderly detainees, all of whom are subjected to torture, inhumane conditions, and systematic medical neglect. All detainees and prisoners have been indiscriminately attacked and subjected to countless violations and torture policies as a means of collectively punishing all Palestinians and the Palestinian resistance to the occupation.
An occupation that was finally officially declared illegal by the International Court of Justice. The 2024 International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion declaring Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories as illegal has significant implications for the Palestinian struggle. This ruling emphasizes that the occupation breaches norms prohibiting the acquisition of territory by force and recognizes the right of Palestinians to self-determination. The ruling imposes legal responsibilities on all states and international organizations, obligating them not to recognize or support the occupying state's actions that perpetuate the occupation, such as the mass detention of Palestinians without evidence and excessive sentencing.
The advisory opinion also has significant implications for Palestinian prisoners, as most of the occupying state's prisons holding Palestinian detainees are located within its territory, in contravention of international law. While human rights organizations can leverage the ICJ opinion to demand that the occupying state comply with international law—not just in the broader context of the occupation, but specifically regarding the treatment and location of prisoners—it is time that we achieve the complete dismantlement of all prisons and military courts built on unfair trial guarantees and discriminatory policies aimed solely at the Palestinian people. For states that voted in favor of the advisory opinion, they must impose diplomatic or economic measures against the occupying state, sanctioning and boycotting its continued violations, including its treatment of Palestinian prisoners.
It is also time that the occupying state and its authorities are held accountable for their crimes and persecuted, so that the world can see that international law, along with its bodies and mechanisms, is not failing the countless Palestinian victims. This year has been the deadliest year for Palestinians in Gaza under the ongoing and brutal genocide, and for Palestinians living in the West Bank and other territories. This violence has been perpetrated by both the Israeli Occupation Forces and illegal settlers, who have carried out numerous attacks and rampages targeting Palestinians across all territories. These illegal settlers are not tried or punished for their crimes, including the killing of Palestinians, and are not subjected to the military court system, unlike Palestinians who are tried even for minor offenses, such as small traffic violations, in the 1967 territories, often resulting in sentences of 10 or more years in prison.
This year has also witnessed the highest number of deaths among Palestinian prisoners and detainees, with the number now reaching 45 from Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. This number does not include all the detainees from Gaza, as the occupation continues to conceal the real and verified data related to detainees from Gaza, subjecting them to enforced disappearance. No perpetrators have yet been held accountable for the deaths and killings of these 45 detainees over the past year. As history shows, 99% of the “investigations” that the occupying state claims to open into crimes committed against Palestinians are closed with no further action or accountability due to a "lack of evidence."
On Thursday, November 21, 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber unanimously issued two decisions rejecting challenges by Israel and issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Minister of "Defense" Yoav Gallant. This decision sends a clear message to the victims and survivors of atrocities committed by the Israeli occupation army that, while international law and its institutions have failed Palestinian victims for decades, this decision offers a chance to prove that international law stands by its fundamental commitment—that the lives of all human beings have equal value—and to provide meaningful justice for the crimes committed in occupied Palestine.
However, many crimes committed by Netanyahu and Gallant, either as direct perpetrators or as civilian superiors, remain unaddressed, particularly crimes committed against Palestinian prisoners and detainees, further reinforcing the cycle of impunity and abuse. From October 7, 2023, until today, more than 11,800 Palestinians have been arrested, and the number of Palestinians detained has increased from over 5,000 to 10,100.
Through years of documenting violations committed against prisoners by the Israeli Prison Service, it is a fact that acts of torture, starvation, medical neglect, and other forms of degrading treatment have been inflicted on detainees since the establishment of the first prison by the occupying state. The ICC must include in its inquiries crimes relevant to the Court’s jurisdiction, including the crime of apartheid, as committed across all of occupied Palestine since June 13, 2014.
Today is the time for action. It is time for states to take a stand against the occupying state for its crimes committed against the Palestinian people, crimes that have been proven to violate International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law. It is time to include Palestinian prisoners in the broader struggle for freedom, the Palestinian cause, and the fight for human rights.
It is time for the ICC to issue arrest warrants for the National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Parliamentarian and former minister in the war cabinet Benny Gantz, the President of Israel M. Isaac Herzog, former head of the IPS Katy Perry, current head of the IPS Ronen Bar, as well as all heads of prisons and detention centers and all lower-ranking officials serving in the Israeli Occupation Forces. States must impose diplomatic sanctions, advocate for sanctions through the United Nations, boycott the occupying state, and enforce a military embargo by implementing the ICJ advisory opinion in order to end the occupation.
States have a responsibility to ensure that the occupying state is held accountable for its violations and that Palestinian rights—including the right to self-determination and protection from illegal detention—are fully recognized and upheld.
The free people of the world must persist in boycotting the Occupying State across all sectors—economically, academically, and culturally—while holding their own governments accountable for their complicity in enabling the occupation. This includes demanding transparency and an end regarding arms deals, trade agreements, and political alliances that sustain the oppression. Citizens must also intensify efforts to pressure their governments to sever all ties with the criminal occupying state, including diplomatic relations and military cooperation.
As always, we call for the immediate release of all Palestinian political prisoners, whose detention represents a gross violation of international law and human rights. Additionally, we demand the complete dismantlement of the corrupt and illegal military court system and the broader framework of injustice that it upholds. These courts, devoid of fairness or legitimacy, serve as tools to criminalize any action taken by the Palestinian people and violate the right to self-determination and perpetuate control over the Palestinian people. Ending these systems is essential to ensuring accountability, justice, and the realization of freedom for Palestine.