Protesters worldwide mark Palestinian Prisoners' Day, call for repeal of execution law
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Fri, 04/17/2026 - 11:44
Annual event highlighting plight of incarcerated Palestinians marked across the world, days after new Israeli law permitting execution of Palestinian detainees
Palestinians take part in a protest a day before Palestinian Prisoners' Day, in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, on 16 April 2026 (Yosri Aljamal/Reuters)
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Campaigners around the world marked the annual Palestinian Prisoners' Day on Friday, calling for the release of more than 9,000 detainees and the repeal of a new Israeli law permitting executions of Palestinian prisoners.
The annual day was first held by the Palestinian National Council on 17 April 1974, exactly three years after Mahmoud Bakr Hejazi was the first to be released in a prisoner exchange between Israel and Palestine.
Since then it has been marked each year to highlight the plight of incarcerated Palestinians.
As of this month, more than 9,600 Palestinians are held in Israeli jails, the Red Ribbons Campaign, which advocates for the release of Palestinian detainees, told Middle East Eye in a statement.
"Thousands of Palestinian prisoners and hostages remain held in Israeli occupation prisons, subjected to severe violations," the statement said.
At least 3,532 of them are held in administrative detention - an Israeli policy which allows the military to detain Palestinians without charge or trial for periods of six months that can be renewed indefinitely.
At least 342 prisoners are children, while 84 are women and 119 are serving life sentences.
There has been a huge spike in arrests since the Israeli genocide on Gaza began in October 2023. Before that date, around 5,250 Palestinians were held in Israeli prisons.
Over 137 events across 19 countries were held on Friday, according to the Red Ribbons Campaign.
'The term "hostages" accurately reflects [Palestinian prisoners'] reality'
- Mustafa Barghouti, Palestinian politician
The campaign encourages everyone to raise red ribbons as a symbol of solidarity.
According to Adnan Hmidan, the campaign's coordinator: "It should remind the world of the blood being shed, the freedom we seek and the urgent cause we stand for."
Events marking the day were held in the UK, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Germany, Japan, Morocco, Norway, Spain, the Netherlands and the US, among other countries.
"All appreciation to those standing in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners and hostages," Mustafa Barghouti, the well-known Palestinian physician and politician, said.
"The term 'hostages' accurately reflects their reality - they are forcibly held, subject to military courts lacking basic standards of justice, and repeatedly detained without charge or trial under administrative detention," the Red Ribbons Campaign quoted Barghouti as saying.
"These are grave violations of international law carried out by an illegitimate occupation in full view of the world."
Execution law targeting Palestinians
Protests were also held on Thursday across Palestinian towns and cities in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip to mark Prisoners' Day.
Demonstrators held up banners and pictures of detainees, as well as pieces of rope to symbolise a newly passed Israeli legislation on executions.
Last month, Israel's Knesset approved a bill by 62 votes to 48, despite international calls to abandon it, allowing the execution of prisoners.
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The legislation has drawn widespread criticism for violating the right to life and for its potentially discriminatory application.
Under the law, anyone who "intentionally causes the death of another person with the intent to harm an Israeli citizen or resident, or to threaten the existence of the State of Israel" could face the death penalty or life imprisonment.
The wording effectively targets Palestinians, while Jewish Israelis who kill Palestinians would face, at most, a prison sentence.
Human rights groups and legal experts have strongly opposed the bill, citing Israel's broad use of "terrorism" charges against Palestinians and a sharp rise in reports of torture and deaths in custody since the war on Gaza began.
Several Israeli rights groups - including Adalah, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), HaMoked and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHRI) - have also condemned the new policy.
In a joint statement, they said the legislation could impose the death penalty almost exclusively on Palestinians, creating what they described as a "racialised system of capital punishment".
"The bills are among the most extreme and dangerous legislative measures ever proposed by Israel against Palestinians," the groups said.
They added that the proposal would establish a "discriminatory punitive framework", denying Palestinians equal protection under the law, fair trial rights and safeguards against torture and inhuman treatment.
Escalation of abuses
Human rights organisations have long documented the mistreatment of Palestinian detainees, but say abuses have sharply escalated since October 2023.
At least 90 prisoners have died in Israeli custody during that period.
Last month, UN experts warned that torture had become "state doctrine" in Israel, citing what they described as the "systematic torture of Palestinians", shielded by decades of impunity and political cover.
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"Since the onset of the genocide, the Israeli prison system has degenerated into a laboratory of calculated cruelty," Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on Palestine, said.
Meanwhile, it was reported this week that the Israeli army approved soldiers suspected of torturing and raping a Palestinian detainee to return to reserve duty.
Army chief Eyal Zamir authorised the move for members of Unit 100, Haaretz reported on Thursday.
Five soldiers from the unit, tasked with guarding prisoners, were implicated in the abuse of a Palestinian detainee at the notorious Sde Teiman detention centre in 2024.
Last month, the charges against the soldiers were dropped. No internal military investigation into the incident has been carried out.
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said earlier this month that sexual torture of Palestinian detainees from Gaza appeared to be an "organised state policy".
The group released a report compiling testimonies from former detainees, detailing sexual violence, including rape with objects and the use of trained dogs.
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