Legal Protection Of Prisoners Of War In The Occupied Palestinian Territories From The Perspective Of International Law

The main idea of this Thesis is the role played by international law in general,and in particular international humanitarian law,in the protection of prisoners of war,since this law preserves the rights of war prisoners through treaties and conventions on the protection of human rights and the safeguarding of their dignity.Since the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories in 1967,more than one-third of the Palestinian people have been imprisoned.Despite the international recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the repeated condemnations of the Israeli Occupying Power as an illegal occupation by the international community,Israel is still dealing with the Palestinians as a group of people who do not belong to the State or sovereignty.Therefore,Israel deals with the Palestinian prisoners by being criminals and security prisoners rather than treating them as prisoners of war and legitimate freedom fighters who are defending their homeland.That is a grave violation of the dignity of the combatants and,in general,the Palestinian citizens.The arbitrary detention of Palestinians by Israel and the denial of their legal and humanitarian rights guaranteed by international humanitarian law and human rights law are a clear violation of these laws and the rules of justice.Through this research,we have identified the rights of Palestinian prisoners which have been enshrined in many international conventions and treaties,which also provide many details for them.However,the problem is to oblige the Israeli Occupying Power to respect these conventions,to provide protection to Palestinian prisoners and to give them all their rights.Moreover,the research clarified the legal status of the occupied Palestinian territories,the legal adaptation of Palestinian prisoners under international law and the responsibility of the Israeli occupation towards them.Whereas the Israeli occupation still occupies the Palestinian territories even though Palestine had become an observer State Non-Member of the UN in 2012.The thesis' purpose is to analyse in many details the issue of Palestinian Prisoners to determine their legal status under international law.We will do so by using international law principles and International covenants and treaties as evidence to clearly demonstrate that the Palestinian prisoners in the occupied territories are prisoners of war,therefore,their treatment by the Israeli occupation on the basis that they are criminals and security prisoners can only be a violation of international laws and conventions.Also at the end,we will be able to propose some ideas on the way forward to end the debate of the legal status of Palestinian prisoners as well as promote their protection at the international level,based on the implication of the UN bodies such as the UNGA and the ICJ.The role of UN bodies in resolving the Palestinian issue in general and the issue of prisoners,in particular,is very decisive.There is no doubt,that the international community States(most of the UN member States)support the right to selfdetermination of the Palestinian people,we have seen their solidarity by voting on the resolutions of the UNGA in favour of Palestine.It is worth mentioning the important and honourable role played by the People's Republic of China in favour of and support for the oppressed peoples,especially the Palestinian people.Particularly since China has become a significant international power,by the way,China is also one of the permanent members of the UNSC,its favour for the oppressed peoples is admirable,unlike some other strong veto powers who exploit their strength against the oppressed communities.Their position in the UNSC is to deprive the Palestinian people of their most basic rights and support the Israeli occupation at all levels,and the head of these countries is the USA.In this study,the researcher reached a number of conclusions and recommendations,including that international humanitarian law has provided legal protection for prisoners of war by emphasizing the rights of prisoners that start from the moment of the prisoner's arrest in the hands of the Detaining Power and during the process of captivity until the end of detention.The study also found that the Geneva Conventions did not apply to Palestinian prisoners regarding treatment and access to the rights that prisoners of war are supposed to enjoy.Moreover,the Israeli occupation authorities exercise severe violations for Palestinian prisoners;The Israeli Parliament passed a series of laws that contravened international humanitarian law,such as the Administrative Detention Law,the Forced Feeding and Detention of Children under 14 Law.Israel,therefore,has the legal and humanitarian responsibility towards Palestinian prisoners.Palestine is an occupied state,and Israel is required to protect civilians and respect and treat Palestinian prisoners with humanity,and the same responsibility applies to the USA because it is Israel's partner because of its continued political,economic and military support to prevent Palestinians from realising their demands for freedom and self-determination.The researcher reached some important recommendations as follows: The issue of Palestinian prisoners must be internationalized,and it is necessary to approach the UNGA to request an advisory opinion from the ICJ on the issue of Palestinian prisoners.Moreover,Restoring the Palestinian cause to the UN and getting rid of USA hegemony and finally Urge the UNSC to establish a permanent International Monitoring Committee in the occupied Palestinian territories.