Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on the sidelines of the 77th session of the General Assembly.

Palestinian President relayed to Guterres the latest developments in Palestine, and the Israeli practices against the Palestinians. They also discussed developments in the political process and international efforts in that regard.

The meeting was attended by a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Abu Amr, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad Al-Malki, Head of the General Intelligence Service Major General Majed Faraj, Presidential advisor for Diplomatic Affairs Majdi Al-Khalidi, and the General Supervisor of Official Media Minister Ahmad Assaf.

Abbas condemned the closure of a number of Palestinian civil society institutions by the Israeli occupation, stressing that "we will not accept this." 

For their part, civil society representatives stressed the importance and necessity of coordination between official Palestinian institutions and civil society institutions to confront these Israeli decisions that purposefully neglect all international law and human rights.

Abbas meets the President of the ICRC

In a related context, Abbas met with the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, stressing the importance of the Red Cross and its role in monitoring the health conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons.

Abbas called on Red Cross to stress on increasing family visits at prisons and to put pressure on Israeli illegal administrative detentions, adding that Palestinian prisoners should receive their rights. 

Read next: The Policy of Neglect; Behind the Walls of the Occupation Prisons

The Palestinian President also briefed his guest on the procedures and practices of the Israeli prison administrations against the prisoners, especially the policy of torture and deliberate medical neglect that threatens the lives of a number of prisoners inside the occupation prisons.

Abbas also stressed the need to join forces for the immediate release of all prisoners, especially the sick, the elderly, women and children.

That said, the Palestinian Prisoners Information Office announced that 40-year-old prisoner Moussa Abu Mahamid, from the village of Beit Ta'mar, east of Beit Lahm, is martyred.

Abu Mahamid was infected with an unknown germ inside the Israeli prison, and his treatment was delayed by the Israeli prison authorities, resulting in the deterioration of his health, according to local sources.

Prisoner Abu Mahamid was martyred in the "Assaf Harofeh" hospital as a result of the occupation's policy of medical negligence, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Information Office.