§ Lord Dykesasked Her Majesty's Government:
What recent discussions have taken place with the Government of Israel about Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, camps and detention centres; what representations they have made about the numbers 81WA of detainees and their treatment, and whether Israel has future release dates to notify to the United Nations and the international community. [HL4722]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanOn 4 September officials in Tel Aviv raised with the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) a number of our concerns about the demands that inspired the Palestinian prisoners' hunger strike, which ran from 15 August to 2 September. These included: that Israel should meet its obligations towards prisoners; that prisoners, including during the hunger strike, should be treated with dignity; and that juvenile and adult prisoners should be separated, as provided for in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The UN and international community regularly request information on detainess, including about release dates. We are not aware that Israel has given any such dates recently, but Israel does release detainees on a regular basis.
We continue to monitor the situation with regard to Israeli treatment of Palestinian prisoners and raise our concerns with the Israeli authorities where it is appropriate to do so.