Amman, July3, 2018 (WAFA)- The Palestine National Council (PNC) affirmed that the payment of allowances to the families of detainees, martyrs and wounded is a legal obligation and a national duty to provide protection and care to them. They are victims of the Israeli occupation’s terrorism, which transformed the Fourth Geneva Convention from the Convention for the protection of civilians in time of war into another one for the protection of its soldiers.
The Council explained, in a parliamentary memo sent by its chairman Saleem AL-Za’anoon to various international and regional parliamentary associations and concerned institutions, the dimensions and risks of the law approved by the Israeli Knesset on 2/7/2018 to deduct funds transferred to Palestine state that go to the families of Palestinian prisoners and martyrs.
Speaker AL-Za’anoon pointed out that this law, which came days after the US administration’s decision to freeze its financial aid to Palestine, is contrary to international and humanitarian laws, financial piracy and organized political terrorism practiced by the Israeli government, and comes in the context of the war of financial sanctions on the Palestinian people and the State of Palestine which refuse to accept the deal of the century.
In its memorandum, the Council appealed to countries of the world to shoulder their responsibilities towards the Palestinian prisoners and respond to the campaigns of incitement and systematic punitive measures led by the occupying state against them and end half a century of occupation.
The National Council called upon the international institutions to compel the occupation to comply with the rules of international law, immediately abolish its racist legislation, commit to pay the families of the prisoners, as the vast majority of the detainees are the main supporters of their families to compensate the value of what the occupation has stolen from the allowances and salaries of prisoners over the past fifty years.
The Council called on the US administration to stop the legislation of the Congress, which identifies with the legislation of the Knesset, reveals the extent to which the American and Israeli administrations are hostile to the aspirations, goals and dignity of our people, especially the martyrs, prisoners, the wounded and their families, and to consider their legislation as a serious violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and other international conventions.
The memorandum included an explanation of this violation of Israel’s obligations as the “Detaining Power” in relation to the allowances of the prisoners, provided for in Articles 81 and 98 of the Fourth Geneva Convention under which the “ Detaining Power” shall support and provide medical care, to those detained persons who are entitled to receive subsidies from their state, as well as its duty to hand over all detainees regular allowances to enable them to purchase basic necessities.