TUBAS (Ma'an) -- The families of detainees in Israeli jails have written letters of support to their loved ones ahead of Palestinian Prisoners Day on April 17.

The letters called on international political figures such as US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to support prisoner rights and help end their suffering.

"Since you’ve been gone, I've become 12-years-old and you’re sentenced to 22 years in prison and yet more years have to pass in order to see you," one girl wrote to her father.

"The house is empty after you were arrested, I am alone here and after my son passed away 5 months ago, I can’t sleep at night and can’t stop crying," the mother of one prisoner wrote.

The symbolic letters are part of an event set to take place in the northern West Bank city of Tubas to commemorate Palestinian Prisoners Day.

The question of prisoners is a highly emotive issue in Palestinian society, where around 40 percent of Palestinian men living in the occupied territories have been detained by Israel at some point in their lives.