The Palestinian Prisoners Center for Studies pointed out Thursday that the number of longest-serving prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons rose to 261, with new prisoners entering their 21st consecutive year in captivity, the last of whom was Mahmoud Ali Al-Radaydah, from Beit Lahm, who was sentenced to life imprisonment. 

The Center explained that the longest-serving prisoners are the ones who have spent more than 20 years continuously in Israeli occupation prisons, including 17 prisoners who have been detained for more than 30 years, the oldest of whom are Karim Younis and Maher Younis, who have been detained since 1983 and are expected to be released after several months. 

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The Center added that there are currently 39 prisoners whose detention period exceeded more than a quarter of a century (25 years), while there are 71 prisoners who spent between 20 and 25 years.

It is noteworthy that prisoner Nael Al-Barghouti from Ramallah spent more than 42 years in Israeli prisons over two detention periods. Al-Barghouti was liberated in the Wafa Al-Ahrar deal after 34 consecutive years of captivity but was re-arrested in 2014.

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The director of the Palestinian Prisoners Center for Studies, Riyad Al-Ashqar, expected that the number of longest-serving prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons would reach more than 300 by the end of the year as a result of the occupation high-sentencing dozens of prisoners, with nearly 20 years passing on their detention.

Al-Ashqar renewed his call to launch a strong international campaign to demand the release of the old, elderly and ill prisoners, and called on the media to shed more light on these prisoners who spent their lives behind bars.

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