Ramallah/Gaza, 2 May 2024 — Addameer, Al Mezan, Al-Haq, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) express deep dismay at the news of the killing of 50-year-old orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh, while he was being held in Israeli custody.

Palestinian prisoners endure severe levels of torture, degradation, and inhumane treatment inside Israeli prisons. These violations are evident in the mistreatment of sick, wounded, and hunger-striking prisoners, as well as the torture inflicted on healthy prisoners. The policy of torture and inhumane treatment has long been employed by the occupying state against prisoners. The prisoner movement has documented cases where prisoners developed diseases, disabilities, or died as a result of military interrogations.

The Israeli occupation system has targeted Palestinian workers, as well as all segments of the Palestinian people, over many decades. Arrests and persecution have been among the occupation's prominent policies. Moreover, a significant portion of Palestinian prisoners who have struggled for the freedom of their land and people come from the working class. Over the years, the occupation has worked on developing its tools and policies to target them, depriving them of their rights, and imposing further control and surveillance on their right to work and life.

These data do not include any figures regarding the number of arrests from Gaza, as the occupation continues to refuse to disclose them and enforces enforced disappearance against them, estimated to be in the thousands. It should be noted that the occupation has detained hundreds of Gaza workers in the West Bank, along with Gaza citizens who were present in the West Bank for medical treatment.