Three prisoners in Israeli jails test positive for COVID-19
Three Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have tested positive for COVID-19, the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Commission said in a statement today.
The Commission said that Loai Zaghari, a 17-year-old teen from Dheisha refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, who is currently held in the Etzion detention facility, tested positive for the highly contagious virus.
It also said that Aref Ali, a resident of the Qalqilya-district town of Kafr Qaddum, and Bara’ Kassab, a resident of the Nablus-district town of Balata, who are currently held in Huwara detention facility, have also contracted the virus.
It said that Israeli detention centers lack the basic necessities of life and are not suitable for human life, especially Huwara detention facility, which the Israeli occupation authorities are currently using as a quarantine center for COVID-19 patients among prisoners.
At least 335 Palestinian prisoners have tested positive for COVID-19 since the outbreak of the pandemic in the prisons in April 2020.
The prison advocacy groups have repeatedly called on the Israeli occupation to release the sick and elderly prisoners who are facing greater health risks due to the coronavirus outbreak, saying that the deliberate procrastinations by the administrations of Israeli prisons in providing the necessary preventive measures inside sections of prisons is the reason behind the spread of the virus.
By the end of January, 4500 Palestinians have been imprisoned in Israeli jails, among them 37 women, 140 children and 45 held in administrative detention.
It also said that there are 11 Palestinian priosners suffering from cancer, and 300 priosners have chronic diseases.
