The Palestinian Center for the Defense of Prisoners on Saturday denounced what it described as Israeli attempts to organize visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross to prisons without permitting direct meetings with detainees or exposing their harsh living conditions.
In a statement, the organization accused the government of Benjamin Netanyahu of attempting to “beautify the image of the occupation before the international community.”
The group stated that visits that do not include direct meetings with prisoners do not constitute genuine oversight and cannot reveal the truth about the serious violations allegedly committed inside detention facilities.
It warned that Israel seeks to restrict the role of the Red Cross to “tourist visits” through prison corridors and meetings exclusively with guards, rather than listening to testimonies from detainees who, according to the organization, are victims of systematic abuses.
According to the statement, the objective is to send a misleading message to global public opinion aimed at granting the occupation a false “certificate of innocence” regarding its alleged crimes.
The center also warned against turning such formal arrangements into a cover that legitimizes Israeli practices.
In light of the situation, the organization called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to reject any conditions that do not guarantee prisoners the right to meet freely and in complete confidentiality, away from the supervision of prison authorities.
“Only in this way can the truth about what is happening inside interrogation rooms and isolation cells be conveyed,” the statement stressed.
More than 9,600 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli prisons, including 86 women and approximately 350 minors, according to three Palestinian organizations focused on prisoners’ rights.
Of the total number, more than 3,500 are being held under administrative detention, according to a joint statement issued by the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, the Prisoners Club, and the Addameer Foundation.
Palestinians and human rights organizations argue that the controversial policy violates due process because it allows authorities to detain individuals for extended periods without presenting evidence, filing charges, conducting trials, or issuing convictions.
According to the organizations, the list of detainees includes students, journalists, human rights activists, lawyers, engineers, doctors, academics, and legislators. (CubaSí)
