Preface
“For six months we have been
tolerating and observing silence. Nothing positive happened,
forgetfulness continued and so what was left for us? Should we have
continued to swallow oppression and bitterness? Our lives stood still
inside prison where we were put for crimes that we never committed. If
our cause is not dealt with, the 8th of March will see the
beginning of our hunger strike”.
With
these words the detainees in Juneid prison wrote a communiqué to the
public demanding that they be released and an end be put to their
endless detention.
Obada Said Bilal, has been detained in
Juneid prison, near Nablus, since 27 November 1998. He has not yet
reached his 18th Spring. Blind since birth, he suffers from
nephritis, an ulcer in his stomach and epilepsy. He has two brothers
sentenced to life inside Israeli prisons.
His
young age, disability and illness did not assure him of a decent and
stable life outside the prisons of the PA.
1.
Introduction: Fabricating the legitimacy of detention
Articles
111 and 118 of the Emergency Regulations of 1945 confer upon the military
commander the power to issue an order for arrest and detention for a
maximum of one year if it is felt that the order is necessary to maintain
public security, defend Palestine, maintain public order or to subdue a
riot or a rebellion.
After reviewing
Decree #1 of 1994, which provided for the validity of laws, regulations
and orders in force prior to June 5 1997 in the Palestinian Territories
(the West Bank and the Gaza Strip), the President of the Palestinian
Authority (PA) issued the following decree in May of 1995: “All
authority and jurisdiction conferred under legislation, laws, orders,
regulations and rules in force prior to 19 May 1994 will revert to the
Palestinian Authority.”
Since the days of the British mandate, the
British Emergency Regulations have served as the legal basis for enacting
sanctions and imposing punishments on Palestinians. Despite criticism,
the power to issue detention orders was transferred to the PA and used to
suppress Palestinian opposition.
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