alorobiya | aseel mansor
The European Alliance for Supporting Palestinian Prisoners held its ninth annual conference on May 3-4, 2025, in the Belgian capital, Brussels, with broad participation from representatives of human rights, parliamentary, and civil institutions from more than 18 European and global countries. The conference was held under the slogan, “Strengthening International Solidarity Amid Genocide.”
The event began with attendees observing a minute of silence to honor the souls of Palestinian martyrs and express solidarity with their sacrifices. This was followed by the playing of the Palestinian national anthem, where participants stood in respect and appreciation of the Palestinian people’s struggle, emphasizing the importance of unity and solidarity in facing the challenges Palestinian prisoners endure in Israeli occupation prisons.
The conference opened with remarks from Dr. Khaled Hamad, the General Coordinator of the European Alliance, who called for expanding institutional efforts and European parliamentary and popular movements in support of the prisoners’ cause. He affirmed that “the Alliance is not just an annual event, but rather a continuous struggle.”
Dr. Amal Jadu, the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to the European Union and Belgium, delivered an official speech, stating that “the issue of Palestinian prisoners is a bleeding wound in the conscience of humanity.” She described the treatment of Palestinian detainees as a “systematic crime that requires international accountability” and thanked the European Alliance for its ongoing efforts to amplify the prisoners’ voices in European and international public opinion.
Parliamentarians from Germany, Belgium, France, Ireland, Sweden, and other countries, as well as representatives of international organizations and Palestinian institutions dedicated to human rights and prisoners’ affairs, participated in the conference. Speakers presented various interventions discussing the possible legal and diplomatic means to hold Israel accountable for its continuous violations of prisoners’ rights, particularly regarding children, women, and the sick.
Among the Palestinian delegation present at the conference were Ambassador Amal Jadu, Palestine’s Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, and the European Union, alongside a delegation including Abdullah Al-Zaghari, President of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, Amjad Al-Najjar, its Director-General, Amin Shoman, Chairman of the Higher Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs, and Ahmed Benjah, a member of the Higher Committee. Representatives of Palestinian prisoner institutions also attended.
Amjad Al-Najjar, the Director-General of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, presented a comprehensive paper outlining the severe violations Palestinian prisoners face in Israeli prisons and detention camps since the war on Gaza began in October 2023 until April 2025.
He highlighted that thousands of detainees endure harsh conditions, are denied access to lawyers, and face a complete lack of information about their fate, constituting a crime of “enforced disappearance” with all its legal elements. Al-Najjar also documented shocking testimonies of physical and psychological torture, deliberate killings, sexual assaults, starvation, and intentional medical neglect. He stated that the number of prisoner martyrs within Israeli prisons since October 2023 has exceeded 65, in addition to the detention of 74 martyrs’ bodies.
Several European parliamentarians from Belgium, France, Spain, Ireland, and Norway participated, providing discussions on the need to expand international and European boycott campaigns against Israel to compel it to adhere to international human rights and prisoner rights conventions. Lawyers, legal experts, and solidarity organizations from various European countries emphasized the importance of bringing the prisoners’ issue to the global agenda and preparing documentation of torture cases and detainee testimonies.
These discussions deeply impacted attendees, shedding light on the grave violations against Palestinian prisoners and strengthening calls to internationalize their case and hold those responsible accountable.
Participants asserted that the abuses faced by Palestinian prisoners amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, urging the international community to take legal and ethical responsibility and to exert serious pressure for the release of all Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons.
They also stressed the necessity of legally prosecuting war criminals who carry out retaliatory measures against prisoners and enhancing international solidarity to spotlight the suffering of Palestinian prisoners and the systematic violations they endure.
Participants underscored recent statistics indicating that more than 6,000 Palestinian prisoners are currently held in Israeli occupation prisons, including around 250 children, 47 women, more than 500 administrative detainees without trial, and over 700 sick prisoners—34 of whom are classified as critically ill.
One of the most impactful segments of the conference was the live testimonies of released prisoners, including women, children, and men who experienced detention. They spoke of physical and psychological abuses, medical neglect, solitary confinement, and various forms of systematic torture.
In a gesture of appreciation, the conference honored the late lawyer Felicia Langer, the honorary president of the alliance, recognizing her lifelong dedication to defending Palestinian prisoners. It also paid tribute to Dr. Khaled Hamad, the General Coordinator of the European Alliance, for his significant role in organizing and supporting prisoners’ rights at the European and international levels.
The ninth conference of the European Alliance for Supporting Palestinian Prisoners concluded in Brussels with a series of important recommendations aimed at internationalizing the Palestinian prisoners’ issue. Participants called for advancing the matter in international forums, including the International Criminal Court, and for political and media pressure on European governments to hold Israel accountable for its human rights violations. They also recommended launching international campaigns to expose administrative detention, torture, and medical neglect in prisons and enhancing cooperation with European parliaments to push for laws banning collaboration with Israeli institutions involved in these violations.
A special focus was placed on the conditions of child prisoners and the need for awareness and educational campaigns to ensure their protection.
The closing session featured open discussions on expanding the alliance’s work and emphasizing the importance of building effective communication bridges with Western media and global human rights institutions to generate public support for Palestinian prisoners’ struggle.
The European Alliance for Supporting Palestinian Prisoners was established in 2014, bringing together activists and institutions from the Palestinian diaspora and Arab and Islamic communities in Europe. It organizes annual awareness and advocacy campaigns to highlight the conditions of prisoners in Israeli prisons on the international stage.
