The Committee of Relations with Palestine in the European Parliament has expressed its support for the Palestinian detainees who are on hunger strike in Israeli prisons to demand respect for their human rights and dignity.

    This came in a statement issued after the monthly session of the Commission in Brussels on Monday, a week after the entry of Palestinian prisoners in an open hunger strike.

   The head of the committee Neoklis Sylikiotis said that the rights of Palestinian prisoners are already violated, in accordance with international law, by transferring them from the Palestinian territories to prisons in Israel. This is a clear violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

   He pointed out that Palestinian prisoners are punished by depriving them of visiting their families, they are subjected to medical negligence, and are subjected to administrative detention by secret evidence without charge or trial, for indefinite periods, which in itself is a form of psychological torture.

   Sylikiotis called on the High Representative for Security and Foreign Policy of the European Union Federica Mujerini, to include the release of all Palestinian political prisoners in any dialogue with “Israel”, as well as all Palestinian children unlawfully detained immediately.

   He also called on her to discuss the need to respect the principle of the Palestinians detention within the Occupied Palestinian Territory, not in Israel, and their humanitarian right to a fair trial.

   The statement expressed the “strong solidarity of the Committee with the Palestinian prisoners suffering from hunger,” pointing out the importance of the international community to be alerted to the threat of forced feeding of prisoners.

    Silikotis stressed that feeding those who had made a conscious and free decision to hunger strike violated their fundamental rights and should not be done, but that the rights and human dignity of prisoners should be respected.