EDM: Israel’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners

Israel’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners

Tabled by Andy McDonald (Labour) 44 signatures

The motion

That this House expresses grave concern about reports of widespread and systematic torture of Palestinians detained and imprisoned by Israel, including children; notes with alarm that, since 2023, the situation has deteriorated significantly, with evidence of intensifying abuses, including beatings, sexual violence, starvation and lethal mistreatment, leading to unprecedented numbers of Palestinians dying in custody; additionally condemns the Israeli Knesset for passing legislation to introduce the death penalty exclusively for Palestinians; further notes this discriminatory law is evidence of the crime of apartheid, which the International Court of Justice found Israel to be committing in July 2024; also notes that Israel utilises separate judicial systems for different people, with only Palestinians processed through military courts with extraordinarily high conviction rates and without access to fair trials; additionally notes that over 3,000 Palestinians are currently held in administrative detention without any trial or evidence presented against them; notes that UN human rights experts have concluded that Israel is deliberately and purposefully using torture against Palestinians; considers that states, including Britain, have an obligation to prevent and punish such breaches of international law; and calls on the British Government to take immediate action by demanding the release of all Palestinian prisoners unjustly detained, including the prominent political leader Marwan Barghouti, and to impose meaningful sanctions on Israel including a full arms embargo.

Signatories (44)