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Palestinians demand prisoner release<br>
by <br>
Sunday 17 April 2005 11:13 AM GMT <br><br>
<br>
Thousands of Palestinians have demonstrated on behalf of prisoners held
by Israel and denounced their own government for failing to secure their
freedom.<br><br>
</b>Warning on Sunday that peace would be impossible without their
release, several hundred relatives also marked Palestinian Prisoners Day
by staging a rally outside the Ram Allah offices of Prime Minister Ahmad
Quraya. <br><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3> <br><br>
</font>Quraya emerged from his office to insist that the release of the
estimated 7000 Palestinian prisoners held by the Israelis was one of his
top priorities. <br><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3> <br><br>
</font>"There are only two issues in our programme. The first is to
liberate the land. The second is to liberate the prisoners," said
Quraya, calling the prisoners heroes. <br><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3> <br><br>
</font>He was heckled by some family members, including one woman who
shouted at him: "We hear this from you all the time. We don't want
speeches, we want action." <br><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3> <br><br>
</font>Israel released 500 Palestinian prisoners shortly after a summit
in February between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President
Mahmud Abbas. <br><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3> <br><br>
</font>It also agreed in principle to the release of a further 400
Palestinians, but they remain behind bars. <br><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3> <br><br>
</font>Protester's frustration<br><br>
</b> <br><br>
Miriam Shihada, who has been unable to visit two of her sons in an
Israeli prison for the last four years, said she was exasperated.
<br><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3> <br><br>
</font>"They (the Palestinian Authority) only give us speeches. We
are very tired and just want our sons released," she told
journalists outside Quraya's offices. <br><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3> <br><br>
</font>One of the main prisoners' organisations said the continued
presence of thousands of Palestinians in Israeli jails would scupper the
chance of peace in the Middle East. <br><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3> <br><br>
</font>"We demand from the PA that we have a real date for the
release of the prisoners," the central committee for prisoners
families said in a statement. <br><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3> <br><br>
</font>"If the PA cannot give us a date, they must declare to the
world that there can be no peace with Israel." <br><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3> <br><br>
</font>Jenin protest<br><br>
</b> <br><br>
Meanwhile, dozens of members of a Palestinian resistance group blocked
traffic in the West Bank city of Jenin's main square to demand money for
families of Palestinians killed in fighting with Israel. <br><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3> <br><br>
</font>The head of the al-Aqsa's Martyrs Brigades in the West Bank,
Zakariya al-Zubaidi, said on Sunday that his men had "decided to
stay … until the Palestinian Authority pays the stipends [owed to
relatives of those killed by Israeli occupation forces]".<br><br>
<br><br>
The Palestinian Authority has made piecemeal payments to the families,
but the group is demanding monthly allotments. <br><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3> <br><br>
</font>Al-Zubaidi told the crowd he was ready to march on the offices of
local parliamentarians. "In half an hour, if we find any of them in
their offices, there will be blood, and then our only language will be
the bullet." <br><br>
<br><br>
Demand for work<br><br>
</b> <br><br>
The Brigades leader demanded jobs for Palestinians recently released from
Israeli prisons and for relatives of those killed during the nearly
five-year-old intifada. <br><br>
<br><br>
The fighting has devastated the Palestinian Authority and weakened its
financial stability. <br><br>
<br><br>
Thousands of Palestinians were thrown into poverty and joblessness as a
result of the violence after Israeli military operations and government
policy dealt a near death blow to Palestinian Authority institutions -
one of the main internal employers - and barred most Palestinians from
entering Israel to work. <br><br>
<br><br>
Before fighting erupted in September 2000, more than 150,000 Palestinians
worked in Israel. Today, just a few thousand West Bank and Gaza Strip
Palestinians have permits to work in Israel. <br><br>
<br><br>
Hunger strike<br><br>
</b> <br><br>
The protests in Jenin come as Palestinian detainees begin their second
and final day of a hunger strike in Israeli jails to protest against
their imprisonment. <br><br>
<br><br>
More than 7000 Palestinian prisoners continued their strike in the hope
of adding pressure on the Israeli government and the Palestinian
Authority to do more to secure their release.<br><br>
<br><br>
Isa Qaraqia, head of the Palestinian Prisoner Club (PPC), told Aljazeera
the strike came as a message, warning the international community that
the situation inside the prisons had become very difficult.<br><br>
<br><br>
Speaking to Aljazeera by phone, Palestinian prisoner Abu Muhammad
criticised the conditions in Israeli prisons.<br>
<br>
"Israeli occupation authorities permanently exercise psychological
warfare against prisoners like solitary confinement, banning visits, and
imprisoning of many Palestinian leaders like Marwan al-Barghuthi, Maluh
and others," Abu Muhammad said.<br><br>
<br><br>
"Some of us have been here for 30 years," he said.<br><br>
Aljazeera + Agencies<br>
By <br><br>
</b>You can find this article at:<br>
<a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5F0BB570-FDC2-43F8-8C4B-F18B21CC9B88.htm" eudora="autourl">
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5F0BB570-FDC2-43F8-8C4B-F18B21CC9B88.htm</a>
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