The Independent Commission for Human Rights - ICHR 21 1.1 Consequences of the Israeli practices on the ability of Palestinian institutions to ensure human rights Overall, the practices of the Israeli occupying authorities posed serious challenges to the State of Palestine’s ability to safeguard fundamental rights and freedoms of Palestinian citizens. Combined, Israeli practices have prevented Palestinian line ministries and government bodies from fully discharging their functions, tasks, and powers as approved under the Basic Law and relevant national regulations. Below is a presentation of the impact of Israeli policies on the performance and interventions of some Palestinian line ministries, government bodies, and vital sectors with the mandate to ensure rights and provide basic services to Palestinian citizens. 1.1.1 Commission of Prisoners and Released Prisoners’ Affairs Patterns of Israeli abuses of Palestinian political prisoners were not different in 2021 than in the preceding ten years. It could be said that the proportion of day-to-day arrests, raids, and assaults on political prisoners increased significantly. More constraints were placed on political prisoners held in Israeli prisons. These were deprived of their fundamental human rights, enshrined in international conventions and instruments. In particular, after six Palestinian political prisoners had escaped from the Gilboa’ Prison in early September 2021, oppressive policies against prisoners were escalated by the Israeli Prison Service, including solitary confinement, deprivation of medical treatment, and prevention of family visits. The Commission of Prisoners and Released Prisoners’ Affairs (“Commission”) monitored some 8,000 arrests and detentions of Palestinians across Palestinian governorates. Towards the end of 2021, approximately 4,600 Palestinian prisoners and detained were being held in Israeli prisons. These included 34 female prisoners, including a minor girl. Detained Palestinians also included some 160 children and minors, 500 administrative detainees, and nine members of the last term of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). Constraints imposed by the Israeli occupying authorities created considerable difficulty for the lawyers of the ICHR and Palestinian human rights groups.12 Inside Israeli prisons, Palestinian political prisoners and detainees were subjected to different patterns of violations. These practices affected a wide array of human rights enshrined in international standards on prisoners and had economic and social bearings on prisoners, released prisoners, and their families as well as on their living conditions. All these are affected by unemployment and poverty as the vast majority of detained Palestinians support and provide the sole source of income for their families. As such, detention is a true tragedy, mostly causing economic and financial ruin, particularly given the hefty fines on, and economic exploitation of, political prisoners and their families. Allowances for political prisoners and their families continued to be targeted and deducted from Palestinian clearance revenues. The Israeli Cabinet decided to continue to deduct Palestinian clearance revenues, allegedly because they were paid as allowances to the families of political prisoners and martyrs. This was a practical application of a law, approved by the Knesset in July 2018, providing that as much PA clearance revenues would be deducted as the amount paid in social allowances to the families of prisoners and martyrs. As a pillar of the social protection system, provisions for political prisoners’ families are a key obligation of the State of Palestine towards Palestinian citizens. The welfare of these and other families affected by the occupation is among legal, regulatory, 12 Letter sent to ICHR by the Legal Department of the Commission of Prisoners and Released Prisoners’ Affairs, February 2022. Twenty Seventh Annual Report 2021