Shaath: Prisoners’ issue must take priority

Fatah Commissioner of International Relations, Nabil Shaath, Tuesday said that the Palestinian prisoners’ issue must be given priority because it violates humanitarian and international laws. During a meeting with the consuls and ambassadors to Palestine in Ramallah, Shaath insisted that the prisoners’ issue is at the forefront of the Palestinian agenda for it is a matter of occupation and violation of international law. The death of Arafat Jaradat, who was detained and killed due to severe torture in an Israeli detention center, heightened the struggle of the prisoners and the people, Shaath added. “Jaradat’s death is a crime of assassination and torture,” he said. The Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs Issa Qaraqi and Head of Prisoner’s Club Faris Qaddoura, both attended the conference and explained in details the situation, concentrating on Arafat’s murder and the striking prisoners’ long hunger strike, jeopardizing their lives. Shaath summed up the entire situation in terms of the settlement activities in the West Bank, particularly in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, which he described as “the core of the issue”, elaborating that if Israel insists on refusing to deal with the Palestinian land as an occupied land, there will be no hope for any success in the peace process. Shaath said that “any attempt to achieve peace must take into consideration the two issues of freedom of our land and the freedom of our people, particularly the imprisoned in Israeli jails.” He briefly tackled the visit of US President Barack Obama, however, didn’t discuss it much until it happens to see how it develops. He also discussed the developments of the reconciliation, which is currently stalled but will recommence and help create one democratic country committed to peace.