3 apr 2020
Palestinians gather for a demonstration to demand coronavirus (COVID-19) protection for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, in Gaza City, Gaza on 19 March 2020
Within the next few days, Palestinian prisoners held by Israel may be hit by the coronavirus pandemic, causing major unrest in the prisons.
This is the reality facing prison staff and their prisoners at a time when governments around the world and international organisations are trying to overcome the virus and failing.
The Palestinians behind bars in Israel have nothing to defend themselves from the virus, except perhaps a bar of soap, on top of which they still have to cope with the official neglect and brutality of the Israeli occupation authorities.
The Minister of Internal Security delights in the punitive measures imposed on the prisoners recently. Above it all hovers the fear of the virus taking hold among the Palestinian prisoners.
The negligence of the Israel Prison Service towards those in its “care” is normal; it rarely responds to prisoners’ demands and this time is no different. So the punitive measures remain in place, and the very basic resources to curb the spread of the virus are being denied to them.
Even basic pantry basics, such as olive oil, are being refused, and the amount of vegetables that prisoners can buy has been cut; they are also banned from buying-in meat and fish, important sources of protein. Moreover, and arguably more seriously in the present context, prisoners have been banned from buying cleaning products used to sanitise the bathrooms and cells.
Regulatory bodies and their representatives have not been allowed to monitor the conditions of prisoners who may have contracted the virus and are now isolated in Megiddo Prison. This is something that the prison administration is trying to keep secret from the Palestinian public, fearing their reaction.
This has put the prisoners themselves on the edge of an open confrontation with the occupation authorities in defence of their right to live and to return to their families.
Israeli disregard for Palestinian prisoners’ lives peaked when those in Megiddo demanded that the officers test all of the prisoners for Covid-19 and provide them with protective kit, such as masks, gloves and disinfectant.
The Israel Prison Service’s response was to tell them, “Use your socks to make masks, and your soap to disinfect your cells.” Socks and soap were among the items banned recently in an obvious attempt by the prison system to provoke the prisoners at a time when the world is looking the other way and trying to overcome the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite their heroic efforts to protect themselves, the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel are unlikely to succeed; it will be a miracle if they do. This will throw a sharp focus on their situation during this global crisis. The conditions that Israel has allowed to fester in the prisons where it holds Palestinians — including the ramshackle physical environment as well as the shambolic “healthcare” and systematic medical neglect — almost guarantees the spread of the virus.
Each unit houses 80 prisoners, with a high level of contact amongst them. When one prisoner is infected, they cannot be isolated from the others effectively. This will transform the prison blocks into mass isolation units, and possibly mass graves.
In such circumstances, given the legal duty of care that the Israel Prison Service has towards all prisoners, including those from among the population living under occupation, the Palestinians being held by the Israelis have the right to be released on licence or parole.
They are not violent career criminals; they are, in the main, political prisoners who stood up against the military occupation of their land. They have a legitimate right to do so, and so should be set free now before it is too late.
The people of Palestine must rise to the challenge of their responsibilities towards their friends and relatives who are imprisoned in Israel. They have always done so in the past, and now is not the time to leave the prisoners exposed. They should not accept the factions’ institutional failure to put pressure on the occupation authorities to get the prisoners released. Action is needed now.
This article first appeared in Arabic in the Palestinian Information Centre on 30 March 2020
Within the next few days, Palestinian prisoners held by Israel may be hit by the coronavirus pandemic, causing major unrest in the prisons.
This is the reality facing prison staff and their prisoners at a time when governments around the world and international organisations are trying to overcome the virus and failing.
The Palestinians behind bars in Israel have nothing to defend themselves from the virus, except perhaps a bar of soap, on top of which they still have to cope with the official neglect and brutality of the Israeli occupation authorities.
The Minister of Internal Security delights in the punitive measures imposed on the prisoners recently. Above it all hovers the fear of the virus taking hold among the Palestinian prisoners.
The negligence of the Israel Prison Service towards those in its “care” is normal; it rarely responds to prisoners’ demands and this time is no different. So the punitive measures remain in place, and the very basic resources to curb the spread of the virus are being denied to them.
Even basic pantry basics, such as olive oil, are being refused, and the amount of vegetables that prisoners can buy has been cut; they are also banned from buying-in meat and fish, important sources of protein. Moreover, and arguably more seriously in the present context, prisoners have been banned from buying cleaning products used to sanitise the bathrooms and cells.
Regulatory bodies and their representatives have not been allowed to monitor the conditions of prisoners who may have contracted the virus and are now isolated in Megiddo Prison. This is something that the prison administration is trying to keep secret from the Palestinian public, fearing their reaction.
This has put the prisoners themselves on the edge of an open confrontation with the occupation authorities in defence of their right to live and to return to their families.
Israeli disregard for Palestinian prisoners’ lives peaked when those in Megiddo demanded that the officers test all of the prisoners for Covid-19 and provide them with protective kit, such as masks, gloves and disinfectant.
The Israel Prison Service’s response was to tell them, “Use your socks to make masks, and your soap to disinfect your cells.” Socks and soap were among the items banned recently in an obvious attempt by the prison system to provoke the prisoners at a time when the world is looking the other way and trying to overcome the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite their heroic efforts to protect themselves, the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel are unlikely to succeed; it will be a miracle if they do. This will throw a sharp focus on their situation during this global crisis. The conditions that Israel has allowed to fester in the prisons where it holds Palestinians — including the ramshackle physical environment as well as the shambolic “healthcare” and systematic medical neglect — almost guarantees the spread of the virus.
Each unit houses 80 prisoners, with a high level of contact amongst them. When one prisoner is infected, they cannot be isolated from the others effectively. This will transform the prison blocks into mass isolation units, and possibly mass graves.
In such circumstances, given the legal duty of care that the Israel Prison Service has towards all prisoners, including those from among the population living under occupation, the Palestinians being held by the Israelis have the right to be released on licence or parole.
They are not violent career criminals; they are, in the main, political prisoners who stood up against the military occupation of their land. They have a legitimate right to do so, and so should be set free now before it is too late.
The people of Palestine must rise to the challenge of their responsibilities towards their friends and relatives who are imprisoned in Israel. They have always done so in the past, and now is not the time to leave the prisoners exposed. They should not accept the factions’ institutional failure to put pressure on the occupation authorities to get the prisoners released. Action is needed now.
This article first appeared in Arabic in the Palestinian Information Centre on 30 March 2020
Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) on Thursday moved Sheikh Omar al-Barghouti, who was arrested from his home on Tuesday, to Ramla prison clinic after extending his detention for six days.
Meanwhile, al-Barghouti's son Mohammed, who was abducted with him on the same day, was moved to Etzion jail after having his detention extended for six days too.
Al-Barghouti, who suffers from several health problems, was kidnapped along with his son Mohammed from their home in Kobar village north of Ramallah City in the Occupied West Bank on Tuesday.
Al-Barghouti, a father of a martyr and a detainee, had served a total of 25 years in Israeli jails.
Meanwhile, al-Barghouti's son Mohammed, who was abducted with him on the same day, was moved to Etzion jail after having his detention extended for six days too.
Al-Barghouti, who suffers from several health problems, was kidnapped along with his son Mohammed from their home in Kobar village north of Ramallah City in the Occupied West Bank on Tuesday.
Al-Barghouti, a father of a martyr and a detainee, had served a total of 25 years in Israeli jails.
Al-Quds Center for Israeli and Palestinian Studies has said that the Israeli occupation army in March 2020 arrested 292 Palestinians, including 17 children and 3 women, in the West Bank and Jerusalem despite the region being hit with the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Center said that 124 arrests were reported in Jerusalem alone which witnessed stepped up arrest and home raid campaigns.
In the West Bank, 157 arrest cases were distributed to the provinces of al-Khalil, Ramallah, Nablus, Qalqilya, Jenin, Tulkarem, Bethlehem, Salfit, Tubas and the Northern Jordan Valley.
Three Palestinians were arrested in the 1948 Occupied Territories and four in the Gaza Strip, including two businessmen kidnapped at Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing.
Director of the field documentation department at al-Quds Center Rola Hasanein said that despite the rapid spread of the Coronavirus disease locally and globally, the Israeli occupation forces carry out daily raid and arrest campaigns in the Palestinian territories putting the lives of Palestinian residents at risk.
Hasanein pointed out that the detained Palestinians are kept in poor conditions were the minimum safety measures are not taken to protect them from contracting the novel virus.
The Center said that 124 arrests were reported in Jerusalem alone which witnessed stepped up arrest and home raid campaigns.
In the West Bank, 157 arrest cases were distributed to the provinces of al-Khalil, Ramallah, Nablus, Qalqilya, Jenin, Tulkarem, Bethlehem, Salfit, Tubas and the Northern Jordan Valley.
Three Palestinians were arrested in the 1948 Occupied Territories and four in the Gaza Strip, including two businessmen kidnapped at Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing.
Director of the field documentation department at al-Quds Center Rola Hasanein said that despite the rapid spread of the Coronavirus disease locally and globally, the Israeli occupation forces carry out daily raid and arrest campaigns in the Palestinian territories putting the lives of Palestinian residents at risk.
Hasanein pointed out that the detained Palestinians are kept in poor conditions were the minimum safety measures are not taken to protect them from contracting the novel virus.
Thursday, April 2, 2020 (WAFA) – Ten Palestinian political prisoners at Ofer detention camp, southwest of Ramallah, embarked today on an open-ended hunger strike in protest against the ongoing solitary confinement of two fellow prisoners, as well as against Israel’s failure to provide the conditions to prevent a high risk of coronavirus infection among them, today said the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS).
PPS quoted the ten prisoners as saying that unless the Israel Prison Service (IPS) fulfills their legitimate demands, more prisoners will join the hunger strike to pressure IPS to do so.
Earlier today, other prisoners in Ofer refused to accept their meals in a protest measure against IPS’s failure to examine prisoners who were in contact with an infected inmate released two days ago.
Nour Sarsour, 19, from the town of Beitunia, near Ramallah, was tested positive with coronavirus after his release from prison and arrival at home.
He seems to have contracted the disease while in prison and was released and sent to Ramallah without the IPS conducting any corona tests on him leaving the possibility that he could have passed the disease to other inmates.
PPS said the IPS only checked the prisoners who were in contact with Sarsour but did not take any samples from them to test them for coronavirus, claiming that it was waiting for an official medical report from the Palestinian Authority proving that the released prisoner has the disease.
PPS quoted the ten prisoners as saying that unless the Israel Prison Service (IPS) fulfills their legitimate demands, more prisoners will join the hunger strike to pressure IPS to do so.
Earlier today, other prisoners in Ofer refused to accept their meals in a protest measure against IPS’s failure to examine prisoners who were in contact with an infected inmate released two days ago.
Nour Sarsour, 19, from the town of Beitunia, near Ramallah, was tested positive with coronavirus after his release from prison and arrival at home.
He seems to have contracted the disease while in prison and was released and sent to Ramallah without the IPS conducting any corona tests on him leaving the possibility that he could have passed the disease to other inmates.
PPS said the IPS only checked the prisoners who were in contact with Sarsour but did not take any samples from them to test them for coronavirus, claiming that it was waiting for an official medical report from the Palestinian Authority proving that the released prisoner has the disease.
Israeli forces Friday overnight detained five Palestinians, including a minister, from the West Bank districts of Jerusalem and Jenin, said local sources.
Israeli police detained Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Fadi Hidmi after storming his house in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Suwaneh. video
During the raid, police officers leading dogs deliberately smashed the external and internal doors of al-Hidmi’s house and seized 10,000 shekels ($2,800).
Meanwhile, Israeli military vehicles raided Yaabad town, southwest of Jenin, where soldiers detained four Palestinians, including three teens.
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 police detained Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Fadi Hidmi after storming his house in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Suwaneh. video
During the raid, police officers leading dogs deliberately smashed the external and internal doors of al-Hidmi’s house and seized 10,000 shekels ($2,800).
Meanwhile, Israeli military vehicles raided Yaabad town, southwest of Jenin, where soldiers detained four Palestinians, including three teens.
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.
2 apr 2020
Unsurprisingly, Israel has not heeded requests to safeguard the health of Palestinian prisoners in its jails.
Besides recommending “precautionary measures”, which are likely to provide no protection in confined spaces, it seems that Israel will persist with its medical neglect strategies, which have resulted in Palestinian prisoners dying.
Yet again, there have not been, and nor are there likely to be, any repercussions from the international community.
The initial appeal by the prisoners has been followed up with a petition launched by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society asking for international intervention.
The petition calls for the release of over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners — the most vulnerable or susceptible to illness — given that Israel routinely disregards the health concerns and conditions of the people it puts behind bars.
Two Israeli prison officers have already contracted the coronavirus Covid-19, and a recently released Palestinian prisoner has also tested positive, thus raising concerns about the spread of the virus while Israel, true to its extermination by stealth tactic, does nothing.
Appealing for urgent humanitarian action is unlikely to prompt UN action against Israel. Bureaucratic statements and recommendations have failed to put an end to Israeli practices such as administrative detention — jailing someone indefinitely with neither charge nor trial — and the abuse of minors in prison; the deprivation of rights, including family visits; and both timely and appropriate medical attention.
The fear of medical neglect among prisoners is justified.
Since 1967, 222 Palestinian prisoners have died after Israel refused treatment for life-threatening illnesses, including cancer. If Israel deprives Palestinians of treatment for illnesses which are not contagious, how will it act when faced with the possibility of a pandemic spreading which has the potential to wipe out the stalwarts of Palestinian resistance to its military occupation?
On both political and humanitarian grounds, the UN should intervene to safeguard all Palestinian prisoners from the possibility of dying as a direct result of Israel’s withholding of treatment. However, the UN’s agenda is divested of protection for human rights, in particular those in association with colonial violence.
The pandemic will not reduce international support for Israel and Palestinians risk becoming collateral damage in a political system which has lost its penchant for statements attesting to the illusion of international protection for human rights.
The coronavirus has exposed an international political failure to protect the most vulnerable; Palestinian prisoners, forgotten until a coordinated hunger strike or a death makes headlines, are about to experience the collective intent to ignore a catastrophe in the making.
Palestinians have been forced into cooperation with the Israeli authorities to halt further contagion. As in other examples where their leaders work with and for Israel, however, the Palestinians are the least likely to reap the benefits, in particular if there is an increase in surveillance on behalf of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
As each country focuses on its concerns at home, global solidarity with Palestinians at a crucial moment is at an all-time low. For Palestinian prisoners, the consequences of such international disinterest are heightened. Double standards as regards the sense of urgency which the pandemic is evoking are being applied; Israeli cases of coronavirus are juxtaposed against security when it comes to speaking about Palestinians who have contracted the virus.
Palestinian prisoners simply don’t matter as far the pedlars of Israel’s security narrative are concerned, even in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
Besides recommending “precautionary measures”, which are likely to provide no protection in confined spaces, it seems that Israel will persist with its medical neglect strategies, which have resulted in Palestinian prisoners dying.
Yet again, there have not been, and nor are there likely to be, any repercussions from the international community.
The initial appeal by the prisoners has been followed up with a petition launched by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society asking for international intervention.
The petition calls for the release of over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners — the most vulnerable or susceptible to illness — given that Israel routinely disregards the health concerns and conditions of the people it puts behind bars.
Two Israeli prison officers have already contracted the coronavirus Covid-19, and a recently released Palestinian prisoner has also tested positive, thus raising concerns about the spread of the virus while Israel, true to its extermination by stealth tactic, does nothing.
Appealing for urgent humanitarian action is unlikely to prompt UN action against Israel. Bureaucratic statements and recommendations have failed to put an end to Israeli practices such as administrative detention — jailing someone indefinitely with neither charge nor trial — and the abuse of minors in prison; the deprivation of rights, including family visits; and both timely and appropriate medical attention.
The fear of medical neglect among prisoners is justified.
Since 1967, 222 Palestinian prisoners have died after Israel refused treatment for life-threatening illnesses, including cancer. If Israel deprives Palestinians of treatment for illnesses which are not contagious, how will it act when faced with the possibility of a pandemic spreading which has the potential to wipe out the stalwarts of Palestinian resistance to its military occupation?
On both political and humanitarian grounds, the UN should intervene to safeguard all Palestinian prisoners from the possibility of dying as a direct result of Israel’s withholding of treatment. However, the UN’s agenda is divested of protection for human rights, in particular those in association with colonial violence.
The pandemic will not reduce international support for Israel and Palestinians risk becoming collateral damage in a political system which has lost its penchant for statements attesting to the illusion of international protection for human rights.
The coronavirus has exposed an international political failure to protect the most vulnerable; Palestinian prisoners, forgotten until a coordinated hunger strike or a death makes headlines, are about to experience the collective intent to ignore a catastrophe in the making.
Palestinians have been forced into cooperation with the Israeli authorities to halt further contagion. As in other examples where their leaders work with and for Israel, however, the Palestinians are the least likely to reap the benefits, in particular if there is an increase in surveillance on behalf of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
As each country focuses on its concerns at home, global solidarity with Palestinians at a crucial moment is at an all-time low. For Palestinian prisoners, the consequences of such international disinterest are heightened. Double standards as regards the sense of urgency which the pandemic is evoking are being applied; Israeli cases of coronavirus are juxtaposed against security when it comes to speaking about Palestinians who have contracted the virus.
Palestinian prisoners simply don’t matter as far the pedlars of Israel’s security narrative are concerned, even in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Israeli occupation police last night and at dawn Thursday stormed different areas of Jerusalem and kidnaped several Palestinian young men.
According to local sources, police forces escorted by intelligence officers stormed Silwan district, east of Jerusalem, last night and rounded up three young men after physically assaulting them.
The detainees were identified as Yazan Siyam, Mahmoud Awwad and Nour Asfour.
Later at dawn, police forces broke into Abu Tayeh neighborhood in Silwan, with no reported arrests.
Israeli police forces also stormed Issawiya district, northeast of Jerusalem, and kidnaped a young man called Sa’id Obeid after beating him. video
They also kidnaped another young man called Mohamed Mustafa from Issawiya and handed others summonses for interrogation.
In a separate incident, police forces on Wednesday evening confiscated about 100 sheep from a Palestinian shepherd as he was herding them in Wadi al-Humus neighborhood in Sur Baher village, south of Jerusalem. video
According to local sources, police forces escorted by intelligence officers stormed Silwan district, east of Jerusalem, last night and rounded up three young men after physically assaulting them.
The detainees were identified as Yazan Siyam, Mahmoud Awwad and Nour Asfour.
Later at dawn, police forces broke into Abu Tayeh neighborhood in Silwan, with no reported arrests.
Israeli police forces also stormed Issawiya district, northeast of Jerusalem, and kidnaped a young man called Sa’id Obeid after beating him. video
They also kidnaped another young man called Mohamed Mustafa from Issawiya and handed others summonses for interrogation.
In a separate incident, police forces on Wednesday evening confiscated about 100 sheep from a Palestinian shepherd as he was herding them in Wadi al-Humus neighborhood in Sur Baher village, south of Jerusalem. video
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS), on Tuesday, released a statement regarding fears for the fate of 5,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation jails, after the declaration of jailers and investigators being infected with the coronavirus, COVID-19.
The Prisoners’s Society added that they have experienced great difficulty in obtaining prisoner health information, due to the isolation measures imposed by the prison authorities, including suspending family and lawyer visits.
The Prisoner’s Society renewed its request to international organizations including the Red Cross, to play a more effective role through increasing the number of people in Palestine to fulfill the current needs of the population. The statement asked for a neutral international medical committee to participate in testing the prisoners.
The prisoners relayed, through several messages, that the prison authorities never provided any of the precautionary measures in the crowded, closed sections of the prisons. Instead of making an effort to prevent the spread of the virus, authorities persecuted the prisoners, accordingly, the prisoners returned their meals and closed the sections as a protest.
It is indicated that there are 700 sick prisoners, 200 who suffer chronic medical issues, in addition to 180 children and 41 females. According to Palestinian WAFA News Agency, the PPS and several other institutions co-launched a petition requesting the release of over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including ill, elderly, female and minor prisoners, over fears of coronavirus spread in the absence of Israeli Prison Service (IPS) health measures to protect them from the coronavirus pandemic.
~ Palestinian Prisoners’ Club – Facebook, WAFA
The Prisoners’s Society added that they have experienced great difficulty in obtaining prisoner health information, due to the isolation measures imposed by the prison authorities, including suspending family and lawyer visits.
The Prisoner’s Society renewed its request to international organizations including the Red Cross, to play a more effective role through increasing the number of people in Palestine to fulfill the current needs of the population. The statement asked for a neutral international medical committee to participate in testing the prisoners.
The prisoners relayed, through several messages, that the prison authorities never provided any of the precautionary measures in the crowded, closed sections of the prisons. Instead of making an effort to prevent the spread of the virus, authorities persecuted the prisoners, accordingly, the prisoners returned their meals and closed the sections as a protest.
It is indicated that there are 700 sick prisoners, 200 who suffer chronic medical issues, in addition to 180 children and 41 females. According to Palestinian WAFA News Agency, the PPS and several other institutions co-launched a petition requesting the release of over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including ill, elderly, female and minor prisoners, over fears of coronavirus spread in the absence of Israeli Prison Service (IPS) health measures to protect them from the coronavirus pandemic.
~ Palestinian Prisoners’ Club – Facebook, WAFA
A Palestinian young man tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) only one day after his release from an Israeli jail, Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainee Affairs Commission said on Wednesday.
The commission said the results of the medical test on the newly released detainee Nour ed-Din Sarsour, from Beitunia town west of Ramallah, showed he was suffering from the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19.
Sarsour was arrested on 18 March and released on Tuesday evening after spending his detention period in Ofer Prison and Benjamin Investigation Center.
The commission held the Israeli government and the Israel Prison Service responsible for what it described a "crime", and noted that the Israeli authorities are not taking the necessary measures to protect Palestinian detainees from the pandemic.
The Palestinian Prisoner Society said that Sarsour shared the same prison room with 36 Palestinian detainees for 12 days.
Israel holds 5,000 Palestinians, including 43 women, 180 children, and 700 patients in its prisons. Several Palestinian factions and rights groups have repeatedly called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to intervene to ensure the safety of Palestinian prisoners in light of the Coronavirus outbreak.
The commission said the results of the medical test on the newly released detainee Nour ed-Din Sarsour, from Beitunia town west of Ramallah, showed he was suffering from the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19.
Sarsour was arrested on 18 March and released on Tuesday evening after spending his detention period in Ofer Prison and Benjamin Investigation Center.
The commission held the Israeli government and the Israel Prison Service responsible for what it described a "crime", and noted that the Israeli authorities are not taking the necessary measures to protect Palestinian detainees from the pandemic.
The Palestinian Prisoner Society said that Sarsour shared the same prison room with 36 Palestinian detainees for 12 days.
Israel holds 5,000 Palestinians, including 43 women, 180 children, and 700 patients in its prisons. Several Palestinian factions and rights groups have repeatedly called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to intervene to ensure the safety of Palestinian prisoners in light of the Coronavirus outbreak.
1 apr 2020
The Ramallah-based Palestinian Committee for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners confirmed on Wednesday, that a Palestinian prisoner has tested positive for Coronavirus.
The announcement came after prisoner, Noureldin Sarsour, a resident of Betunia town, west of Ramallah city, who is incarcerated in division 14 at Ofer Israeli prison, received test results on Tuesday, showing he is positive for the Coronavirus.
In a statement, issued Wednesday, the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners and Ex-prisoners, held Israeli Prisons Authority (IPA), responsible for the newly-discovered Coronavirus case, calling for the protection of all 5,000 Palestinian prisoners in more than 20 Israeli jails.
The statement read that a team of attorneys, belonging to the committee, informed the Israeli authorities in the Ofer prison about the results of the test, and inquired about Sarsour’s recent contact with other prisoners, fearing the spread of the infectious COVID-19 virus.
“The name of Sarsour has been revealed, only after Sarsour himself had permitted the lawyers to do so. Sarsour has asked the committee’s lawyers to inform his fellow prisoners about his newly-discovered case of Coronavirus”, the statement further noted.
Last week, the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners, inside Israeli jails, demanded all relevant international bodies to pressure the Israeli government to apply precautionary measures to protect the 5,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails, including those with chronic diseases, women and minors.
It is worth noting that Cairo-based League of 22 Arab States, recently appealed to all concerned international bodies, to pressure Israel for the protection of Palestinian prisoners, in a time the Coronavirus pandemic, has spread through several countries, including the occupation state of Israel itself, where thousands of cases have been reported.
The announcement came after prisoner, Noureldin Sarsour, a resident of Betunia town, west of Ramallah city, who is incarcerated in division 14 at Ofer Israeli prison, received test results on Tuesday, showing he is positive for the Coronavirus.
In a statement, issued Wednesday, the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners and Ex-prisoners, held Israeli Prisons Authority (IPA), responsible for the newly-discovered Coronavirus case, calling for the protection of all 5,000 Palestinian prisoners in more than 20 Israeli jails.
The statement read that a team of attorneys, belonging to the committee, informed the Israeli authorities in the Ofer prison about the results of the test, and inquired about Sarsour’s recent contact with other prisoners, fearing the spread of the infectious COVID-19 virus.
“The name of Sarsour has been revealed, only after Sarsour himself had permitted the lawyers to do so. Sarsour has asked the committee’s lawyers to inform his fellow prisoners about his newly-discovered case of Coronavirus”, the statement further noted.
Last week, the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners, inside Israeli jails, demanded all relevant international bodies to pressure the Israeli government to apply precautionary measures to protect the 5,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails, including those with chronic diseases, women and minors.
It is worth noting that Cairo-based League of 22 Arab States, recently appealed to all concerned international bodies, to pressure Israel for the protection of Palestinian prisoners, in a time the Coronavirus pandemic, has spread through several countries, including the occupation state of Israel itself, where thousands of cases have been reported.
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