Ramallah, 6-10-2026 – During a press conference and a support rally for prisoners held today, Tuesday, in the city of Al-Bireh, prisoners' institutions stated that 92 prisoners whose identities are known have died as martyrs within three years, while enforced disappearance hides the fate of dozens of martyred detainees from Gaza.

The institutions pointed out that approximately 28% of the total martyrs of the captive movement since 1967 have died during the past three years.

They further detailed that about 9,300 detainees are held in occupation prisons as of the beginning of this October. This includes:

The organizations confirmed that 26,000 arrest cases have been recorded in the West Bank, along with thousands in Gaza, since the beginning of the genocide. They added that 49% of the prisoners in the occupation's jails are held without "charges" or "trials." [1]

Since the beginning of the crime of genocide, the Israeli occupation has escalated its policy of arrest and persecution, turning it into a tool for collective revenge, subjugation, and the targeting of various segments of Palestinian society.

According to available data, more than 26,000 arrest cases were recorded in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, while the number of arrests in the Gaza Strip is estimated in the thousands. Documenting these cases remains highly difficult due to ongoing military operations, information blackouts, and enforced disappearances.

The arrests have targeted women, children, the elderly, the sick, journalists, and human rights workers. The number of detained women has exceeded 800, while child arrest cases in the West Bank have surpassed 2,000 since the start of the genocide.

The impact of arrest extends beyond detention itself to include raids, searches, vandalism, threats, and mistreatment. It also carries psychological, social, and economic consequences for the detainees and their families. According to human rights organizations, this makes detention a continuous tool for pressure and collective subjugation.

Speakers called for intensifying international pressure on the occupation to halt and abolish the use of the death penalty, and to ensure that the military or civil judiciary is not used as a tool to impose this sentence on a discriminatory basis.

They also emphasized that protecting the lives of Palestinian prisoners and detainees is an international responsibility that must not be treated as an internal matter or left hostage to retaliatory policies.

RAMALLAH, October 4, 2026 (WAFA) — The Ministry of Education and Higher Education stated that since the beginning of the war of genocide on October 7, 2023, more than 800 male and female teachers have been martyred, over 3,300 others have been injured with varying degrees of wounds, and more than 170 teachers have been detained under harsh conditions.

In a statement issued today, Sunday, to mark World Teachers' Day, the Ministry added that this year's global occasion is held under the slogan: "Supporting Teachers: 60 Years of Protecting the Profession, Improving Conditions, and Shaping Our Future." This carries a historical symbolism that embodies sixty years of human struggle to protect the teaching profession and advance the status of its educators.

The statement continued: "While the world evokes this slogan to address the challenges and strategies necessary to elevate the educational mission, the Palestinian teacher stands at the heart of the field. They embody the finest examples of steadfastness and loyalty to their mission, fighting a genuine battle for survival to protect the right to education under the most brutal conditions of aggression and systematic targeting."

The Ministry highlighted that the suffering of teachers intensifies daily due to on-the-ground harassment and growing restrictions on freedom of movement across hundreds of military checkpoints. This is particularly severe in Masafer Yatta, Al-Mughayyir, the Jordan Valley, and Area C. This is further compounded by the occupation's continued withholding of Palestinian tax revenues (clearance funds), resulting in severe living and economic crises that directly and painfully affect the financial and psychological stability of the educational community.

Expressing deep pride in the pioneering role played by teachers across the homeland, the Ministry stated: "This is an occasion to extend gratitude and appreciation to our male and female teachers. We honor the teachers of Gaza, who were not deterred by rubble, bombardment, or displacement camps from performing their duty. They successfully transformed tents and displacement centers into classrooms pulsing with life. We also honor their colleagues in the virtual schools in the West Bank who skillfully continued their journey to ensure the continuity of education for our students in Gaza, as well as the teachers of Jerusalem who remain steadfast in their schools despite racist occupation policies."

The statement emphasized that this resilience has yielded inspiring success stories, transforming challenges into opportunities for renewal and creativity. The Palestinian teacher has proven to be a true community leader by innovating educational initiatives, technological solutions, and alternative teaching methods from within the heart of the blockade. This sends a clear message from Palestine to the entire world: the will to learn and teach is far stronger and more enduring than the machinery of war and destruction.

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education demanded that the international community, the United Nations, and educational, human rights, and humanitarian organizations—led by UNESCO and UNICEF—take urgent action to curb the ongoing occupation violations against the educational sector and work immediately to provide international protection for educational staff and students.

Furthermore, the Ministry called upon all educational federations, unions, and free people of the world to intensify their advocacy and defense of the rights of Palestinian teachers. It urged them to exert pressure for the release of detained teachers and the immediate release of withheld financial revenues, ensuring the teacher's right to live in dignity and safely fulfill their noble mission.