On April 17 of every year, Palestinians commemorate Prisoners Day which was established in 1974 by the Palestinian National Council to mark the issue of Palestinian prisoners and increase public awareness of their conditions and experiences.
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails are facing difficult conditions. The number of prisoners is around 9,500 Palestinians. Reports of local and international human right organization criticize that they are under harsh conditions, with about half held under administrative detention denied trial and unable to defend themselves. In addition, they are facing poor medical care, solitary confinement, physical and psychological abuse, and restrictions on family visits. At least 94 Palestinian prisoners and detainees have died in Israeli prisons since 2023.
Adding to the dire circumstances faced by prisoners, at the end of March 2026, the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, approved in its second and third readings a law allowing the death penalty for Palestinians tried in military courts and convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis, with 62 members, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, voting in favor and 42 against.
Israeli citizens and residents, including settlers in the occupied West Bank, are excluded from the law, as only Palestinians are subject to military courts, while settlers are subject to civilian courts.
The new law sparked global condemnation, including from German Left Party members who called for the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, as the Israeli State violates international human rights standards.
This year’s Prisoners Day is marked by growing fear and concern over the conditions, rights, and lives of Palestinian prisoners.
Sources:
- https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crreg2l7kezo
- https://www.un.org/unispal/document/ohchr-statement-death-penalty-israel/
- https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/03/israel-opt-newly-adopted-death-penalty-law-must-be-repealed/
- https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/168842
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/17/what-is-palestinian-prisoners-day
- https://mondoweiss.net/2026/04/the-rope-is-for-arabs-only-israels-new-death-penalty-law-for-palestinians-recycles-a-colonial-playbook/
- https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/03/31/israel-discriminatory-death-penalty-bill-passes
- https://www.aljazeera.com
- /news/2026/4/1/palestinians-in-west-bank-protest-strike-against-israeli-death-penalty-law.
