Jerusalem, ALRAY - A Palestinian prisoners' rights group has found that 41 Palestinian detainees have been languishing in Israeli occupation jail for over 25 years.

The Palestinian Prisoners Centre for Studies said that the number of Palestinian detainees who have been imprisoned for over 25 years rose to 41 after the detainees Ammar al-Zaban and Moath Bilal entered their 26th year behind bars.

The Israeli occupation authorities detained al-Zaban and Bilal on 11 January 1998 and issued them life sentences.

Some 20 Palestinian detainees have been imprisoned by the Israeli occupation authorities for over 30 years.

Those detainees have been incarcerated in Israeli occupation jails since before the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords, ten of whom are from the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948.

Among them is Maher Younis who is set to be released on 9 February after 40 years in jail.

Riyad al-Ashqar, the centre's director, said that those detainees are being held in harsh and inhumane conditions and suffer from different diseases after years of deliberate medical negligence in Israeli occupation prisons.

The number of Palestinian detainees who have been incarcerated for over 20 years has jumped to 348, according to al-Ashqar.

Al-Ashqar pointed out that 24 of them were expected to be released about 9 years ago as part of an agreement between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli occupation to release all of the longest-serving Palestinian detainees.

He called on the international community to intervene and put an end to the plight of Palestinian detainees who have been languishing in Israeli occupation jails for dozens of years.

He also urged prisoners' rights groups and media outlets to shed more light on their suffering behind bars.