World must take action against Israel violations: Academic

Press TV has conducted an interview with Saeed Nimer, professor of political science, Birzeit University in Ramallah, about the Palestinian Prisoner's Center for Studies saying that the number of Israeli administrative detention orders against Palestinians has increased by 150 percent.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: What do you make of these numbers? One-hundred-fifty percent increase of administrative detention and basically we do not hear hardly anything about it in the world in various circles as far as condemning the situation.  Why first of all have we seen such a sharp increase in your perspective?

Nimer: Well, first of all we have to understand that the Israelis are using the administrative arrest since the beginning of the occupation in 1967 and as a matter of fact they start using it since 1948 after the establishment of the state of Israel but we have noticed that during periods of time there are usually an increase or a decrease in the number of Palestinians under administrative arrest. In spite lately the international voice against the administrative arrest but yet there is quite an increase in the number of Palestinians being arrested.

Few months ago, the number was around 300-something. Today, we are talking about 571 Palestinians under administrative arrest. It is quite clear that the Israelis are campaigning against the Palestinians and they are pushing the Palestinians more and more and to understand the nature of the administrative arrest where the Israelis can arrest any Palestinian without pressing charges, without trial and without even interrogation, you are just being put to prison because they think you might have done something in the past but they do not have any proof or you might do something in the future and for that they can lock you up for at least a period of six months which is renewable and we have cases like the member of parliament … who have been imprisoned today for 13 years in administrative arrest because of the renewal every six months for him. And we believe that administrative arrest is one of the worst human rights violations internationally and in spite of the condemnation worldwide against it but Israel is continuing to use the administrative arrest against the Palestinians.

Press TV: You talked about the condemnation worldwide but do you think that global powers are actually putting enough pressure on Israel in trying to stop this illegal detention?

Nimer: Unfortunately no. The international pressure that I am talking about so far or the condemnation is coming from some of the international human rights organizations like Amnesty or the Israeli human rights B'Tselem who are condemning the administrative arrest and consider it as a violation to the human rights. But we know that Israel is a menace country and unless the international community take action against the continuous violation of the human rights which in all aspects in the Palestinian lives, on top of it is the issue of Palestinian prisoners, nothing will be done.

For instance you know that the Israelis have a privilege in the EU countries, as part of a member of EU countries and they have special privileges with the EU and usually the EU says that we view the record of any county [which] has privileges with the EU in regard to the human rights. What about the human rights violated by the Israelis? Why not the EU take action against Israel or at least do something to pressurize them to stop these administrative arrests or at least to stop any of the human rights violations all around the West Bank and Gaza Strip and Jerusalem?

AHK/HMV

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