The United Nations International Meeting on the Question of Palestine closed its two-day session here on Wednesday, with officials appealing to the international community for the improvement of the situation of Palestinian political prisoners.

Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, said it became clear during the meeting that Palestinian authorities sought the legal status for Palestinian prisoners as "prisoner of war."

He said they would not sign any agreement or peace treaty without freedom for Palestine prisoners, and invited all to treat them with dignity, in accordance with the international humanitarian law and in a manner of civilized societies.

Measures and steps to address the issue were proposed during the meeting, including the use of existing remedial mechanisms, requesting the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the issue, and the adoption of a General Assembly resolution concerning the situation of Palestinian prisoners.

According to Issa Quaraqe, Minister of the Palestinian Authority for Prisoners' Affairs, some 4,600 people are held in Israeli detention centers, including parliamentarians, children and persons with disabilities.

Abdou Salam Diallo, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, said international initiatives at the diplomatic level, together with civil society organizations' initiatives, would surely lead to improvement of the situation of Palestinian prisoners.

Mansour and Diallo also announced that a meeting would be held in Paris in two months to address the situation of Palestinian women and children.