Palestinian prisoners out of work

The Palestinian Authority’s Prisoners’ Affairs Minister, Issa Quaraque, has renewed the department’s commitment to protecting Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails, following a continuing decline in economic conditions inside the West Bank. “The continuation of the Israeli occupation has led to ever-increasing unemployment figures amongst liberated prisoners,” Quaraque said. The official stressed the need for integration between different Palestinian governmental and civil institutions to overcome the challenges faced by the Palestinian people, adding that the Palestinian Authority should be responsible for providing freed prisoners with job opportunities through vocational training, loans and educational projects. Quaraque claimed the PA had a “social responsibility” to help detainees returning home.