Record Violations, Mass Detentions: Palestinian Prisoners’ Day in Numbers

April 17, 2025 News
10 prisoners from Gaza were released. (Photo: via social media)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Held on April 17, Palestinian Prisoners’ Day was established in 1974 to honor the struggle of prisoners in Israeli prisons.

Palestinian Prisoners’ Day was held on Thursday under conditions described as the most difficult in decades, with escalating Israeli violations against prisoners, Al Jazeera reported.

In addition, the rate of enforced disappearances and mass detentions has increased since the start of Israel’s genocidal assault on the Gaza Strip more than a year ago.

As of early April, the number of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons exceeded 9,900, including at least 400 children and 27 female prisoners, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, cited by Al Jazeera.

“Administrative detention has witnessed an unprecedented increase, with the number of administrative detainees reaching 3,498, including more than 100 children and four women, held without charge or trial,” the organization reportedly said.

It explained that these numbers “were not even recorded during the height of the Palestinian uprisings,” and that Israeli military courts have contributed to their entrenchment through formal hearings.

Secrecy, Enforced Disappearance

Held on April 17, Palestinian Prisoners’ Day was established by the Palestinian National Council (the parliament of the Palestine Liberation Organization) in 1974 to honor the struggle of prisoners in Israeli prisons, according to Al Jazeera.

On this day, events and marches are held in the occupied West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and refugee camps outside Palestine to highlight the conditions of Palestinian prisoners and the violations they face.

The Prisoners Society pointed out that Israel has arrested thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip amidst extreme secrecy and enforced disappearance, noting that detainees are subjected to harsh detention conditions, including torture and sexual abuse.

It did not provide a specific total for the number of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza.

‘Tragic Reality’ – Hamas

The Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas said this year’s commemoration comes as the Israeli occupation “escalates its aggression and ongoing genocide against our land, sanctities, and people in Gaza, the West Bank, and occupied Al-Quds.”

“It also comes amid the tragic reality faced by around 14,000 prisoners — including women and children, and approximately 2,000 detainees/kidnapped individuals from Gaza, whom the enemy has acknowledged as being held in its prisons since October 7, 2023,” the movement said in a statement.

These prisoners, it added, are subjected “to the most brutal forms of psychological and physical torture and are denied even the most basic human rights.”

Rising Death Toll

So far, 63 prisoners and detainees have died in detention, the most recent being the youth, Walid Ahmad, who died as a result of deliberate starvation, Hamas said.

“Meanwhile, the fascist occupation government continues to commit the crime of enforced disappearance against detainees and abductees from Gaza,” the statement added.

Hamas affirmed that the “liberation of prisoners” from Israeli prisons “will remain at the top of our priorities in the Al-Aqsa Flood exchange deal, in loyalty to their sacrifices and steadfastness.”

It also stated that “the crimes of the occupation against our male and female prisoners will not succeed in breaking their willpower. The perpetrators will not escape accountability, and their crimes will not be forgotten regardless of how much time passes.”

‘International Silence’ Condemned

Hamas said it held Israel “fully responsible for the lives and well-being of the thousands of abducted individuals from Gaza” since October 7, 2023,  as well as all Palestinian prisoners.

“We condemn the international silence over the continued executions and deliberate killings they are being subjected to,” the movement stated.

Hamas said the world “has seen” how the movement treated Israel’s prisoners “with care, humanity, and civilized values — while the fascist occupation government commits the most heinous forms of torture, intentional murder, and crimes against our prisoners.”

This, it added, was “in blatant violation of international humanitarian law and all international norms and conventions.”

The movement called on human rights and humanitarian organizations “to expose the crimes of the occupation against Palestinian prisoners across the West Bank and Al-Quds and the abducted from Gaza.”

“We also urge them to pursue the perpetrators in international courts and act decisively to pressure for the immediate release of all prisoners,” Hamas said.

Support for Families

It also urged all Palestinian forces and factions “to unify efforts” to protect the prisoners, defend “and liberate them by all means.”

In addition, the movement called for providing the support for the families and children of prisoners, “support worthy of the prisoners’ stature among our people.”

“Let April 17th be a Palestinian, Arab, and global day of solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in the occupation’s jails — a renewed opportunity to remind the world of their legitimate right to freedom,” Hamas said.

This was in addition to highlighting “the brutality of the crimes and violations they endure, and a moment to amplify the justice o their national cause, honor their sacrifices, and recall their heroism in resisting the crimes of the zionist jailer.”

Systematic Starvation

The Palestinian Prisoners Society noted that most prisoners suffer from health problems, “even those who entered prison in good health, as a result of harsh detention conditions, most notably systematic starvation, the spread of disease, and physical assaults that have caused fractures and various injuries.”

It pointed out that solitary confinement and collective isolation have caused severe psychological problems for many detainees.

The organisation also noted that the Israeli Prison Service restricts visits by legal teams by imposing strict oversight and staggering visits.

It has documented the deaths of 63 prisoners since October 7, 2023, including 40 from the Gaza Strip. The numbers, it said, include only those whose identities have been confirmed, and pointed out that Israel continues to conceal the identities of many detainees as part of its policy of enforced disappearance.

Another Detainee’s Death Announced

On Thursday, the death of another detainee was announced.

Musab Hassan Odeili, 20, from the town of Orsin, south of Nablus, was to be released in a few days. He had been detained since March 22, 2024, and was sentenced to 13 months in prison.

Odeili’s death has raised the death toll among detainees to 64 since October 7, 2023.

(PC, AJA)

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