RAMALLAH, Thursday, January 7, 2019 (WAFA) – PLO Executive Committee Member Hanan Ashrawi condemned Israel on Thursday for the death of Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails Faris Baroud and the inhumane treatment he was subjected to for nearly three decades.

“The Israeli government is fully responsible for the untimely death of Faris Baroud and the inhumane treatment he was subjected to for nearly three decades,” she said in a press release.

Ashrawi said Baroud and others were among thousands of Palestinian political prisoners Israel had pledged to release after the signing of the Declaration of Principles. “It reneged on that promise the same way it reneged again on the promise to release these prisoners in 2014.”

She continued, “Israel is a serial violator of human rights and its obligations under international humanitarian law, including the systematic use of torture and other inhumane treatment as well as medical negligence. It is high time for Israel‘s brutality against Palestinian prisoners, illegally imprisoned inside Israeli territory, to be thoroughly and independently investigated.”

Faris Baroud‘s physical and mental health have deteriorated over the years because of his imprisonment conditions. There are many other Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, who are facing serious threats to their lives due to medical negligence, including prisoners suffering from chronic illnesses.

“This grave situation requires immediate attention from all High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, who have a legal and moral obligation to end Israel‘s policy of mass incarceration and endemic human rights violations of Palestinian political prisoners,” the PLO official said.

“The Palestinian leadership calls on relevant international organizations to intervene and conduct a thorough investigation. The Israeli government must be placed under full scrutiny and accountability for their repeated violations of International law, including international humanitarian law.”

M.N