List of Palestinian prisoners, held in Israeli jails for more than 20 years, released

As part of the report they stated that the numbers have risen by 67 prisoners after the accession of captives from the city of Jenin who have now remained in prison for over 21 years.

The researcher and media director for the Center for the prisoner Riad Al Ashqar reported on the prisoner Osama Zakaria who was sentenced to life imprisonment in addition to 22 years on charges of military operations against the occupation for his participation with the Black Panther party during the first intifada, and the captive Mohammed Yusuf Suleiman Turkmen also a resident of Jenin and sentenced to life imprisonment plus an additional fifty years, for participating with the Abouhnany group and has been held since 1992.

On Saturday the acting Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of blackmailing the PA leadership on the issue of Palestinian prisoners. He furthermore stated that Israel has agreed to the gradual release of only a limited number of prisoners who were jailed before the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, a deal which the Palestinian Authority have refused."

“The importance of holding this report now is that Israel can be held accountable for not only breaking the accord with the PLO and not releasing prisoners who have been held for the longest periods of time.