Palestinians Mark Palestinian Prisoner Day As Israeli Law Authorizes Execution Of Prisoners

Palestinians marked “Palestinian Prisoner Day” on April 17 under conditions described as “the hardest in decades,” as violations inside Israeli occupation prisons escalated alongside the enactment of a law authorizing “the execution of prisoners.”

“Palestinians are observing today, Friday, 'Palestinian Prisoner Day' under conditions described as the hardest in decades, as violations inside Israeli occupation prisons escalate, in parallel with the enactment of a law authorizing the execution of prisoners”

Al-Jazeera Net

The date is described as one “approved by the Palestinian National Council in 1974 to honor the prisoners' struggle in Israeli prisons,” and activities began “in Gaza and the West Bank since Thursday.”

Al-Jazeera Net

Al-Jazeera Net said the number of detainees in Israeli occupation prisons rose by “83% since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023,” surpassing “9,600 prisoners,” compared with “about 5,250 before the war.”

It also said “administrative detainees” held without charge or trial reached “3,532 detainees,” including women and children, in an “unprecedented rise.”

The same article said “more than 100 prisoners have been martyred since the start of the genocidal war,” with the identities of “89” announced and others “remain in enforced disappearance.”

RFI reported that relatives of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails demonstrated across the occupied West Bank during the week leading up to Saturday, denouncing “a law recently passed by the Israeli government that provides the death penalty for Palestinians.”

RFI added that families fear the worst even though the law is described as not retroactive and not applying to prisoners convicted in the past, and it said “the Palestinian Prisoners Club” reported “89 detainees have died in Israeli prisons since October 7, 2023.”

Beyond the commemorations, the sources lay out a detention landscape defined by rising counts, deaths, and deteriorating health.

Al-Jazeera Net said that “the number of detainees in the occupation's prisons has risen by 83% since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023,” and it specified that the total “surpassing 9,600 prisoners” compared with “about 5,250 before the war.”

RFI

It said “Among the detainees are 86 female prisoners, and about 350 children,” and it described “the number of administrative detainees… reached 3,532 detainees.”

The article also stated that “Data from prisoner organizations indicate that more than 100 prisoners have been martyred since the start of the genocidal war,” and that “the identities of 89 of them have been announced,” while “others, especially Gaza detainees, remain in enforced disappearance.”

It further claimed that “the institutions documented more than 23,000 arrest cases in the West Bank since October 2023,” including “about 1,800 children,” “more than 700 women,” and “over 240 journalists,” with “43 of them remain in detention.”

On health, Al-Jazeera Net said “The health conditions of prisoners have been deteriorating,” adding that “most suffer from illnesses, whether preexisting or as a result of injuries or the conditions of confinement.”

RFI, meanwhile, focused on the fear generated by the death-penalty-by-hanging law, reporting that “89 detainees have died in Israeli prisons since October 7, 2023” according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club.

The same RFI account included a direct, personal description from a mother, Ibtissam, whose “15-year-old son is in prison; it has been 18 months now,” and she said, “We're talking about children! Without visits, for the lawyers, for us, or for the Red Crescent, it's very hard.”

The death-penalty law became the focal point of demonstrations, with protesters and families describing a climate of fear and calling for outside intervention.

“Every year, the conversation about the suffering of Palestinian prisoners is renewed on Prisoners' Day, observed on April 17, a national occasion proclaimed by the Palestinian National Council in 1974 to highlight the reality of detainees in Israeli prisons”

Al-Tilfaziyun Al-Arabi

RFI described a banner waved by protesters showing “a symbol of a noose crossed out in red,” and it quoted Ibtissam saying, “Every day, the occupation kills our youths, but they wanted an official decision, to execute more of them,” as she opposed “the death-penalty-by-hanging law adopted by the Israeli government at the end of March.”

RFI also quoted Maysoun, the mother of a 27-year-old prisoner, saying, “It's not complicated; since the death penalty law was adopted, I can't sleep anymore,” and she added, “I think about it nonstop. I cope with coffee.”

Maysoun told RFI, “I am very afraid for my son, and for any prisoner whom I consider my son, a son of my country,” and she said she feared the law could act as “a green light for more violence.”

She called for action beyond the immediate families, saying, “Arab countries and everyone else must not abandon the prisoners. They must not be left to fall,” and she urged, “I call on international institutions, human rights organizations, and the Red Cross.”

RFI reported that political representatives supported the families, including Leila Ghennam, governor of Ramallah and al-Bireh, who said, “We can only hope that the madness of this Israeli government — that of Ben Gvir, Smotrich, Netanyahu — could serve the Palestinian cause.”

In parallel, Al-Jazeera Net framed the turning point as coming after “an Israeli law authorizing 'the execution of prisoners' was approved,” and it said the Knesset approved the death penalty law “by a majority of 62 lawmakers, with 48 opposed and one abstaining.”

Al-Jazeera Net also described the law as being enacted “with rising testimonies of systematic torture inside prisons,” and it said this year’s activities came “at a dangerous turning point facing the prisoner movement.”

The sources diverge in how they frame the same Prisoners’ Day moment, especially around the death-penalty law and the lived experience of detention.

Al-Jazeera Net emphasizes a broad escalation narrative, saying Palestinians observe the day “under conditions described as the hardest in decades” and linking the day to “the enactment of a law authorizing the execution of prisoners.”

RFI

It presents detention statistics and institutional claims, including that “more than 100 prisoners have been martyred” and that “the number of administrative detainees… reached 3,532 detainees,” while also describing “rising testimonies of systematic torture inside prisons.”

RFI, by contrast, foregrounds family mobilization and courtroom uncertainty, stating that relatives demonstrated across the occupied West Bank and that “NGOs and opponents of this death penalty law have filed an appeal with the Israeli Supreme Court, hoping it will invalidate the text.”

RFI also includes a statement of Israeli authorities’ position, saying, “The Israeli authorities, for their part, say they respect the fundamental rights of prisoners,” and it reports families’ fear even though the law is described as not retroactive.

The RFI account is also more anchored in specific individuals and gestures, quoting Ibtissam’s description of her “15-year-old son” and Maysoun’s sleeplessness and calls for the “Red Cross.”

The Al-Jazeera Net account, meanwhile, ties the day to a political timeline, stating “On March 30, the Knesset… approved the death penalty law” and giving the vote breakdown “62… 48 opposed and one abstaining.”

The two sources also differ in the way they quantify deaths: Al-Jazeera Net says “more than 100 prisoners have been martyred” and that “the identities of 89” were announced, while RFI cites the Palestinian Prisoners Club figure that “89 detainees have died in Israeli prisons since October 7, 2023.”

A separate strand of reporting in the sources turns from policy and statistics to the specific consequences for Palestinian women and children inside prisons.

“The Palestinian Prisoners' Day is officially observed this Friday, April 17”

RFI

Al-Telfزيون العربي says that on Prisoners’ Day, “the conversation about the suffering of Palestinian prisoners is renewed,” and it argues that “behind the numbers and statistics lie stories of even greater cruelty,” including “the tales of children who began their lives behind bars.”

Al-Jazeera Net

It describes cases where “a number of Palestinian children were born inside the prisons of the occupation,” and it says these cases reflect “a complex reality endured by Palestinian female prisoners, especially those who are pregnant.”

The article claims that under detention conditions “lack the minimum health care and humane treatment,” and it says children are “treated as if they are part of the punishment,” with “basic needs sometimes confiscated, even their toys that arrive through humanitarian channels.”

It adds that “The cruelty peaks when the child is forcibly separated from his mother at the age of two,” describing “a new chapter of pain for both.”

The piece provides detailed life histories: it says Zakia Shammout “was born in Haifa in 1945” and was arrested in 1971 “while in her fifth month of pregnancy,” then gave birth on “February 18, 1972” to her daughter Nadia inside “the solitary confinement cell in the Israeli prison Neve Tirza in Ramla.”

It says Nadia “remained with her mother in prison for only one year,” before authorities “were forced to separate her from her and remove her from the detention,” and it states that Zakia Shammout was released in 1983 “as part of a prisoner exchange,” later being “exiled to Algeria” where she “passed away there on September 16, 2014.”

The article also recounts Magda Al-Salaima’s birth story, saying she was arrested on “February 24, 1978” while “six months pregnant,” and that she gave birth to a daughter named “Palestine,” and it describes Omima Al-Agha giving birth on “October 4, 1993” in “the Tel Mond prison,” with her hands and feet bound.

It concludes with the account of Mervet Taha, saying she was “twenty-one at the time of her arrest,” arrested on “May 29, 2002,” and gave birth on “February 8, 2003” to her firstborn Wael at “the nearby Asaf Harofeh Hospital near Ramla prison,” with the birth occurring “while she was chained.”