Palestinian Prisoner Institutions Report Occupation Authorities Arresting, Torturing Thousands of Palestinian Workers

The Palestinian Prisoner's Society (PPS), Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, and Wadi Hilweh Information Center (SILWANIC) all reported that since Oct. 7, thousands of workers have been subjected to arrests, prosecution, and torture by the Israeli occupation authorities. In a statement issued today, the prisoner societies called on all international human rights institutions to carry out an independent international investigation in light of the escalating crimes and genocidal war against the population in Gaza, and to work towards putting an end to the escalating and unprecedented crimes against detainees. They pointed out that crimes against Palestinian workers stem from the Israeli occupation's unprecedented collective punishment policy since the aggression on the Gaza Strip started, with a number of workers dying in the occupation's custody. The prisoner institutions explained that the greater number of these arrests ta rgeted workers from Gaza going to work in the occupied Palestinian territories. According to figures, more than 10,000 Palestinians worked in the occupied Palestinian territories before Oct. 7, 3,000 of whom were released in November, whereas 6,000 of them shifted to working in the West Bank, while 1,000 workers remain missing. Source: Qatar News Agency