Protesters worldwide mark Palestinian Prisoners' Day, call for repeal of execution law

Protesters worldwide mark Palestinian Prisoners' Day, call for repeal of execution law Submitted by MEE staff on Fri, 04/17/2026 - 11:44 Annual event highlighting plight of incarcerated Palestinians marked across the world, days after new Israeli law permitting execution of Palestinian detainees Palestinians take part in a protest a day before Palestinian Prisoners' Day, in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, on 16 April 2026 (Yosri Aljamal/Reuters) Off Campaigners around the world marked the annual Palestinian Prisoners' Day on Friday, calling for the release of more than 9,000 detainees and the repeal of a new Israeli law permitting executions of Palestinian prisoners. The annual day was first held by the Palestinian National Council on 17 April 1974, exactly three years after Mahmoud Bakr Hejazi was the first to be released in a prisoner exchange between Israel and Palestine. Since then it has been marked each year to highlight the plight of incarcerated Palestinians.