Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Seán Crowe TD, in a Parliamentary Question, raised the plight of 240 Palestinian prisoners who are currently on hunger strike over Israel’s continued use of administration detention, which is basically internment on remand.

Crowe said that many of the prisoners have been on hunger strike for over two months and that 40 are now in a critical phase and in hospital. He also called on the Irish Government to support their demand of an end to administration detention.

Deputy Seán Crowe said:

“In order to re-start the peace negotiations Israel agreed to release 104 veteran Palestinian political prisoners but last month Israel refused to release the final 26 prisoners and this collapsed the peace process.

“I welcome that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eamon Gilmore, joined me in speaking out against Israel’s actions in breaking the talk’s pre-conditions.

“I also raised Israel’s use of administration detention against Palestinians, which is basically internment by remand.

“While international law does allow administrative detention in the most exceptional cases, Israel continues to use it systematically and as a form of collective punishment, with some Administrative Detainees having been incarcerated for over 5 years.

“On the 24th of April Administrative Detainees started a hunger strike to demand the end of the use of administrative detention/internment by remand.

“There are now 200 Palestinian prisoners on the hunger strike and recently 40 of them entered a critical phase and were hospitalised.

“I am calling on Israel to end its systematic use of administrative detention and to put in place negotiations which could facilitate the ending of this hunger strike.

“Lastly I raised the issue of the brutal and cold blooded killing of two unarmed Palestinian youths by the Israeli Army just outside Ramallah. The murder of these two youths was clearly caught on security and video cameras.

“I support the calls for an independent and transparent investigation in the killing of these two Palestinian youths, and have called on the Irish Government to also state its public support for such an investigation.”

ENDS