I am deeply concerned about rising tensions, including violence, deaths and arrests in the West Bank, which is having a devastating effect on Palestinian civilians and communities.
The case referred to by the Deputy forms part of a broader and concerning trend, as identified by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, in his recent Flash Report on the human rights situation in the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem published on 27 December 2023. The High Commissioner made several pertinent calls upon Israel, notably to release Palestinians arbitrarily arrested in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel since 7 October, to ensure that detention conditions strictly conform with international norms and standards, to end all practices that may amount to torture or other ill-treatment of Palestinians detained, and to ensure that all allegations of such violations are promptly, impartially, thoroughly and independently investigated, and that perpetrators are held to account.
This is consistent with calls made by Ireland in its bilateral engagement with the Israeli authorities as well as at the United Nations. Ireland has repeatedly called on the Israeli authorities to end the practice of administrative detention completely. We have also repeatedly highlighted the applicability of international human rights standards and international humanitarian law in respect of detainees, in particular obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Detainees must have the right to be informed of the charges underlying any detention, have access to legal assistance, and receive a fair trial.
