DaysofPal- Palestinian officials and rights organizations say the international community has applied double standards in its response to the Palestinian prisoners’ issue in Israeli jails, as their suffering has been greatly aggravated, while global organizations are devoting extensive attention to Israeli captives held in Gaza.
The same global organizations are largely overlooking thousands of Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons, where dozens of them have already died of torture.
More than 9,000 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, including women, children, and detainees with serious health conditions.
They allege that many face overcrowding, torture, medical neglect, and prolonged restrictions on family visits, concerns they say receive limited coverage in Western media and little emphasis in international diplomacy.
Amjad Al-Najjar, director general of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, described the disparity in global reactions as “striking.”
In remarks to Sanad News Agency, he said the detention of a relatively small number of Israeli captives triggered the unprecedented international engagement, including special UN Security Council sessions, high-level diplomatic initiatives, extensive media coverage, and sustained political pressure aimed at securing their release.
Al-Najjar said Israeli captives were consistently framed as humanitarian victims deserving international solidarity, a narrative he argued was at times used to justify diplomatic and military actions against Gaza.
By contrast, he said, Palestinian prisoners have seen no comparable response, with no independent international investigations, emergency UN meetings or comprehensive monitoring visits.
“There is not even acknowledgment of the minimum humanitarian standards the Israeli occupation says it applies,” Al-Najjar said, describing the lack of action as political complicity that shields the Israeli occupation from accountability despite the extensive evidence of abuse.
Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, echoed these concerns, calling the international and European approach to prisoner issues “a clear example of double standards.” He said global attention has focused heavily on individual Israeli cases, while the fate of thousands of Palestinian detainees remains largely ignored.
Barghouti also highlighted the issue of Palestinian bodies held by the Israeli occupation, including prisoners who died in custody decades ago, as well as reports that at least 100 detainees have been killed in the past two years due to alleged torture, ill-treatment, and denial of medical care. He said these cases have drawn little international reaction.
He called for renewed attention to restrictions on visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross, limited access to legal representation, bans on family visits, and the inhumane conditions inside prisons.
Shawan Jabarin, director general of the human rights organization Al-Haq, said Western responses reflect a long-standing bias toward powerful actors.
While he noted growing international scrutiny of Israeli violations, he said efforts to convey the reality of Palestinian prisoners’ conditions globally remain insufficient.
Jabarin warned that documented cases represent only a fraction of alleged violations, citing testimonies that describe abuse from the moment of arrest through interrogation and long-term detention, including allegations of torture and sexual violence.
Palestinian prisoners’ organizations say torture is no longer confined to interrogation but has become part of daily prison life through systematic policies and practices, a trend they claim has intensified since the start of the current war.
Rights advocates are urging international media, diplomats, and human rights bodies to increase efforts to document and publicize alleged abuses, arguing that accountability will remain unreachable as long as the issue of Palestinian prisoners remains on the margins of global attention.
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