Gaza Genocide13 July, 20263 min read
Israeli Warden Fires Rubber Bullet at Marwan Barghouti, Palestinian Groups Say
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Violations escalated in Israeli prisons against Palestinian prisoners, including physical and sexual assaults. Arab League condemns Israeli policy as slow execution and seeks investigation into Barghouti assaults.
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Barghouti targeted in prison
Israeli violations against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons have escalated since the outbreak of the war on the Gaza Strip, with prisoner organizations and human rights groups describing a rise in physical and sexual assaults and deprivation of basic rights. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club and the Prisoners’ Information Office condemned the firing of a rubber bullet by an Israeli warden at Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti inside his cell, calling it a dangerous escalation in targeting the symbols of the prisoner movement. Lawyer Fadwa Barghouti said her husband was struck by a rubber bullet inside his cell, causing bleeding and a painful injury, and she said the incident coincided with the Israeli Prison Service issuing a provocative report against him.
Abdullah Al-Zughari, head of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, said in a statement that firing rubber bullets at Barghouti inside the cell represents a dangerous escalation in attempts to assassinate him, and he added that Barghouti has been subjected since the start of the war on the Gaza to an organized campaign of torture, isolation, and mistreatment. The Arab League said it was following the developments with grave concern and intense anger, describing Israel’s policy toward Palestinian prisoners as a deliberately criminal policy aimed at "slow death."
Campaign seeks accountability
Alongside the allegations of abuse, Palestinian institutions concerned with prisoners’ affairs and human rights organizations announced an international campaign during a press conference in the city of Al-Bireh in the central West Bank to oppose sexual violence against prisoners and female prisoners in Israeli prisons and to pursue those responsible. The campaign’s coordinator, freed prisoner Youssef Amaira, said the work began with extensive documentation of the abuses endured by prisoners, prior to its establishment and official launch, and he said the campaign will begin with events in several countries followed by legal committees comprising lawyers, judges, and experts. Amani Sarhanah, the campaign’s media coordinator, told Anadolu Agency that the launch “represents part of an ongoing pursuit of the occupation, and a cumulative effort undertaken by several institutions since the start of the war on the Gaza Strip.”
The organizers said they would deliver victims’ testimonies to the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, UN mechanisms, and Geneva Convention parties, and they called for “take urgent and effective steps to ensure the protection of Palestinian prisoners.” The Arab League called for the formation of an urgent international fact-finding committee to investigate repeated assaults on Marwan Barghouti and to bring perpetrators to international trial, while also urging the United Nations, the Security Council, the International Criminal Court, and all free nations to shoulder their legal and moral responsibilities.
Legal and political pressure
The campaign and the prison allegations are unfolding as Israeli legal and political moves draw condemnation, including a Knesset law establishing "the death penalty for terrorists" that Radio France said applies only to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
“This is the end. I don’t see myself surviving.”
Radio France reported that the bill was definitively adopted last night by 62 votes to 48, and it quoted Knesset Speaker Limor Son Har-Melech saying: "I declare that the bill on the death penalty for terrorists has been adopted".
The same Radio France report said the law provides that for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank the death penalty shall be the default punishment if the homicide is classified as an act of terrorism by the Israeli military justice system, and it said the condemned will be executed by hanging within 90 days.
In parallel, the Guardian described Israeli prison practices as involving administrative detention that can be renewed every six months indefinitely, and it said about 3,500 prisoners are held under “administrative detention,” including nearly 200 children.
The Guardian also described a case of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, who it said was seized by Israeli forces and held without charge or trial for eighteen months, and it quoted his words to his lawyer: "This is the end. I don’t see myself surviving."