The number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees who have died in Zionist occupation prisons since 1967 has reached 323, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club reported on Wednesday.
Media outlets quoted a statement issued by the club on the occasion of Palestinian Martyrs’ Day, observed annually on January 7. The statement noted that “this number includes cases that Palestinian human rights, medical, and legal institutions have been able to document over the past decades,” despite what it described as a “policy of concealment and obfuscation” pursued by the Zionist entity.
The source highlighted that the period following the outbreak of the war of extermination waged by the Zionist entity against the Gaza Strip represents “the most dangerous and bloodiest transformation in the history of the prisoner movement, both in terms of the number of martyrs and the nature of the crimes committed within the prison system and detention centers.” The club pointed out that of the 323 prisoners martyred since 1967, more than 100 have died since the start of the war of extermination in Gaza on October 7, 2023. In this context, the statement explained that the identities of 86 prisoners who died after October 7, 2023, have been announced so far, including 50 prisoners from the Gaza Strip.
The club considers this “a clear indication of the escalation of systematic killing policies, especially against Gaza detainees who are subjected to harsh and inhumane detention conditions.” The club further stated that the number of martyred prisoners exceeding 100 in such a relatively short period represents “a dangerous historical precedent and reflects an unprecedented level of violence and brutality.”
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club called on the international community and its human rights and judicial bodies to “assume their responsibilities by taking immediate action to protect prisoners, holding occupation leaders accountable for these crimes, and putting an end to impunity.” The Palestinian people commemorate Martyrs’ Day in memory of the first martyr of the Palestinian revolution, Ahmed Musa Salama, in 1967, while also honoring the martyrs of the prisoner movement who died in Zionist occupation prisons.
