31 mar 2020

Cancer-stricken detainee Eyad Jerjawi, 34, is suffering grave health deterioration at Israel's Gilboa prison amid deliberate medical neglect by the Israel Prison Service, Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission said on Tuesday.
The commission said in a statement that Jerjawi, a resident of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, has been recently diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in the brain and he needs to undergo an urgent surgery.
The commission accused the Israel Prison Service of deliberate delay in allowing Jerjawi to receive the medical care he needs.
Jerjawi, who is at risk of losing his sight and ability to move one side of his body, must be transferred to a hospital as soon as possible, the commission stressed.
The commission held the Israel Prison Service fully responsible for Jerjawi's life and the lives of other cancer-stricken Palestinians in Israeli jails who are at a higher risk now with the coronavirus outbreak and absence of vital health care.
Jerjawi was arrested in June 2011 and sentenced to nine years in jail.
The commission said in a statement that Jerjawi, a resident of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, has been recently diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in the brain and he needs to undergo an urgent surgery.
The commission accused the Israel Prison Service of deliberate delay in allowing Jerjawi to receive the medical care he needs.
Jerjawi, who is at risk of losing his sight and ability to move one side of his body, must be transferred to a hospital as soon as possible, the commission stressed.
The commission held the Israel Prison Service fully responsible for Jerjawi's life and the lives of other cancer-stricken Palestinians in Israeli jails who are at a higher risk now with the coronavirus outbreak and absence of vital health care.
Jerjawi was arrested in June 2011 and sentenced to nine years in jail.

Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) on Tuesday decided to hold Sheikh Omar al-Barghouti in administrative detention.
Prisoners Media Office said, quoting al-Barghouti's family, that the IOA decided to detain him until further notice without charge or trial.
Al-Barghouti and his son Mohammed were kidnapped from their home at dawn Tuesday during a raid on Kobar village in Ramallah.
Al-Barghouti is a Palestinian icon of resistance and steadfastness. He is a father of a martyr and a political prisoner. Al-Barghouti himself had served a total of 25 years in Israeli jails.
Prisoners Media Office said, quoting al-Barghouti's family, that the IOA decided to detain him until further notice without charge or trial.
Al-Barghouti and his son Mohammed were kidnapped from their home at dawn Tuesday during a raid on Kobar village in Ramallah.
Al-Barghouti is a Palestinian icon of resistance and steadfastness. He is a father of a martyr and a political prisoner. Al-Barghouti himself had served a total of 25 years in Israeli jails.

The Center of the Defence of the Individual, HaMoked, and other human rights groups have submitted a petition to the Israeli High Court of Justice demanding that Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails be able to phone their families after they have been denied visits as a preventive measure against coronavirus.
The petition emphasized the importance of telephone conversations with families for minors in detention.
The petition was submitted by HaMoked, together with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the Public Committee Against Torture, Physicians for Human Rights, al-Mezan Center for Human Rights and Parents Against Child Detention.
“On March 15, the Israeli government published an emergency regulation prohibiting all visits of attorneys and family members to prisons, as part of the measures to prevent the spread of the corona virus. Criminal prisoners in Israel have telephone contact with their attorneys and their families.
However, the majority of Palestinians in Israeli custody – 4,636 prisoners and detainees as of March 3 – are defined as security inmates, and they are denied phone calls. Without visits, they are completely isolated from the outside world,” HaMoked stated in a recent press release.
“The petition devotes particular attention to the unique vulnerability, needs and rights of Palestinian minors.
Some 200 Palestinian minors in Israeli custody (age 14-17) are defined as security inmates, and the regulations make no distinction between the rights and privileges of adults and children. Detention with its uncertainty and isolation is particularly traumatic for minors, making phone contact with their parents crucial,” the center added.
"In the current uncertain situation, when we are all worried about the spread of the virus, people classified as "security inmates" are completely in the dark," HaMoked lawyer Nadia Daqqa, who filed the petition, said.
"Their families have no way of knowing what's going on with them, and they have no way of knowing how their families are faring in this pandemic. Holding people in such circumstances constitutes a violation of their rights to family life and to be treated with dignity," Daqqa added.
"Despite of the emergency situation, Palestinian prisoners have the full right to be in connection with their families and the outside world," Issam Younis, executive director of al-Mezan Human Rights Center, said. "Israel’s prison authority is obliged to fulfil that basic human right immediately."
The petition emphasized the importance of telephone conversations with families for minors in detention.
The petition was submitted by HaMoked, together with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the Public Committee Against Torture, Physicians for Human Rights, al-Mezan Center for Human Rights and Parents Against Child Detention.
“On March 15, the Israeli government published an emergency regulation prohibiting all visits of attorneys and family members to prisons, as part of the measures to prevent the spread of the corona virus. Criminal prisoners in Israel have telephone contact with their attorneys and their families.
However, the majority of Palestinians in Israeli custody – 4,636 prisoners and detainees as of March 3 – are defined as security inmates, and they are denied phone calls. Without visits, they are completely isolated from the outside world,” HaMoked stated in a recent press release.
“The petition devotes particular attention to the unique vulnerability, needs and rights of Palestinian minors.
Some 200 Palestinian minors in Israeli custody (age 14-17) are defined as security inmates, and the regulations make no distinction between the rights and privileges of adults and children. Detention with its uncertainty and isolation is particularly traumatic for minors, making phone contact with their parents crucial,” the center added.
"In the current uncertain situation, when we are all worried about the spread of the virus, people classified as "security inmates" are completely in the dark," HaMoked lawyer Nadia Daqqa, who filed the petition, said.
"Their families have no way of knowing what's going on with them, and they have no way of knowing how their families are faring in this pandemic. Holding people in such circumstances constitutes a violation of their rights to family life and to be treated with dignity," Daqqa added.
"Despite of the emergency situation, Palestinian prisoners have the full right to be in connection with their families and the outside world," Issam Younis, executive director of al-Mezan Human Rights Center, said. "Israel’s prison authority is obliged to fulfil that basic human right immediately."

Omar Barghouti
An Israeli army unit raided the central West Bank city of Ramallah early this morning in an apparent search-and-arrest campaign, said local sources.
They said the forces were in the vicinity of the Palestinian Legislative Council were youths belted them with stones and the soldiers responded by firing teargas canisters and stun grenades to disperse the youth.
One person was detained after raiding his home. video
Soldiers also raided two Ramallah-area villages and detained Omar Barghouti and his son, Mohammad, in the village of Kubar, north of Ramallah, and Mahmoud Murrar, a lawyer, in the village of Budrus, west of Ramallah, and seized his car. video
The soldiers also raided several homes of people related to Murrar.
An Israeli army unit raided the central West Bank city of Ramallah early this morning in an apparent search-and-arrest campaign, said local sources.
They said the forces were in the vicinity of the Palestinian Legislative Council were youths belted them with stones and the soldiers responded by firing teargas canisters and stun grenades to disperse the youth.
One person was detained after raiding his home. video
Soldiers also raided two Ramallah-area villages and detained Omar Barghouti and his son, Mohammad, in the village of Kubar, north of Ramallah, and Mahmoud Murrar, a lawyer, in the village of Budrus, west of Ramallah, and seized his car. video
The soldiers also raided several homes of people related to Murrar.
30 mar 2020

Israeli police Monday evening detained seven Palestinians from the refugee camp of Shu'afat, to the north of the occupied city of Jerusalem, according to local sources.
The sources confirmed that Israeli police raided the camp, where they occupied the rooftops of several houses and detained seven Palestinians, including a woman. video video video video
The detainees were taken to the military checkpoint at the entrance of the camp. video
This came as Israeli forces conducted a raid into Anata town, northeast of Jerusalem, and closed off its southern entrance, preventing the town residents from going in or out of it.
Israeli forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost on a daily basis across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.
These raids, which take place also in areas under the full control of the Palestinian Authority, are conducted with no need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.
According to Palestinian figures, roughly 5,700 Palestinians -- including numerous women and children -- are currently languishing in Israeli detention facilities.
The sources confirmed that Israeli police raided the camp, where they occupied the rooftops of several houses and detained seven Palestinians, including a woman. video video video video
The detainees were taken to the military checkpoint at the entrance of the camp. video
This came as Israeli forces conducted a raid into Anata town, northeast of Jerusalem, and closed off its southern entrance, preventing the town residents from going in or out of it.
Israeli forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost on a daily basis across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.
These raids, which take place also in areas under the full control of the Palestinian Authority, are conducted with no need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.
According to Palestinian figures, roughly 5,700 Palestinians -- including numerous women and children -- are currently languishing in Israeli detention facilities.

Israeli authorities announced today that three Israeli jailers tested positive for novel coronavirus, according to the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission.
The commission revealed in a statement that two Israeli policemen in the Israeli Ofer prison and another in the Nitzan prison were infected with COVID-19, a situation which portends a real disaster for over 5,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 180 children, 700 patients, 41 female prisoners and dozens of elderly prisoners, in 23 Israeli jails and detention centers.
Head of the Commission, Qadri Abu Bakr, told WAFA that the Israeli authorities announcement about the exposure of two jailers to coronavirus stress the need to conduct medical examinations for all prisoners who contacted the infected jailers and protect all prisoners against possible contraction of the deadly virus.
The commission cautioned against the risk of the imminent spread of the coronavirus among prisoners following the Israeli Prison Service’s failure to take any concrete measures to protect prisoners, such as reducing overcrowding, ongoing sterilization of prisons, sections, and cells, and supplying prisoners with hygiene necessities, such as detergents, sterilizers, and disinfectants.
It held IPS fully responsible for the prisoners’ lives, and urged international organizations and the International Committee of Red Cross to force Israeli authorities to provide the prisoners with all public health necessities, conduct medical examinations for them regularly, and to release the most vulnerable prisoners.
Around 5,700 Palestinians, including numerous women and children, are currently detained in Israeli prisons.
The commission revealed in a statement that two Israeli policemen in the Israeli Ofer prison and another in the Nitzan prison were infected with COVID-19, a situation which portends a real disaster for over 5,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 180 children, 700 patients, 41 female prisoners and dozens of elderly prisoners, in 23 Israeli jails and detention centers.
Head of the Commission, Qadri Abu Bakr, told WAFA that the Israeli authorities announcement about the exposure of two jailers to coronavirus stress the need to conduct medical examinations for all prisoners who contacted the infected jailers and protect all prisoners against possible contraction of the deadly virus.
The commission cautioned against the risk of the imminent spread of the coronavirus among prisoners following the Israeli Prison Service’s failure to take any concrete measures to protect prisoners, such as reducing overcrowding, ongoing sterilization of prisons, sections, and cells, and supplying prisoners with hygiene necessities, such as detergents, sterilizers, and disinfectants.
It held IPS fully responsible for the prisoners’ lives, and urged international organizations and the International Committee of Red Cross to force Israeli authorities to provide the prisoners with all public health necessities, conduct medical examinations for them regularly, and to release the most vulnerable prisoners.
Around 5,700 Palestinians, including numerous women and children, are currently detained in Israeli prisons.

Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Monday handed a home demolition order to the family of the Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails Qassam al-Barghouti in Kobar village in Ramallah.
Al-Barghouti's family have been given a time limit until 8 April to evacuate their two-floor house in preparation for its demolition.
Al-Barghouti was arrested in September 2019 on charges of being involved in an attack in which an Israeli settler was killed and two others injured in Deir Ibzi village in Ramallah in August 2019.
Al-Barghouti's family have been given a time limit until 8 April to evacuate their two-floor house in preparation for its demolition.
Al-Barghouti was arrested in September 2019 on charges of being involved in an attack in which an Israeli settler was killed and two others injured in Deir Ibzi village in Ramallah in August 2019.

The Israeli occupation police at dawn Monday kidnaped a Palestinian young man and a child from their homes in Issawiya district, east Jerusalem.
The detainees were identified as Yazan Bassam and Mohamed Hamza (child). video
The police also detained other young men identified as Yazan Omran and Taha Ayesh for several hours before fining and releasing them.
Last night, violent clashes broke out in Issawiya, especially in Obeid neighborhood, between local youths and police forces.
Local sources said that young men attacked a police vehicle with a homemade firebomb and showered officers with fireworks during the events.
The detainees were identified as Yazan Bassam and Mohamed Hamza (child). video
The police also detained other young men identified as Yazan Omran and Taha Ayesh for several hours before fining and releasing them.
Last night, violent clashes broke out in Issawiya, especially in Obeid neighborhood, between local youths and police forces.
Local sources said that young men attacked a police vehicle with a homemade firebomb and showered officers with fireworks during the events.