Al-Naqab prison Israeli 'revenge' center: Human Rights org
5 Min Read
The prison is estimated to house 600 detainees, while the true number could be as high as 900.
-
Detained African migrants inside the Holot detention center in the al-Naqab desert on February 4, 2018 (AFP)
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights has held the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for the lives of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, noting the prisons have become "Arenas for revenge and brutality" against Palestinian prisoners.
The center pointed out in a statement that the occupation has taken inhumane measures that constitute serious and systematic violations of the legal and ethical standards and rules established by the civilized world to regulate the conditions of persons deprived of their freedom inside places of detention, which guarantee their dignity and rights.
After visiting the al'Naqab prison, considered the most dangerous Israeli prison, the center's lawyer noted skin rashes on the bodies of prisoners he met with and was informed of a spread of skin diseases transmitted to about 150 prisoners.
Prison administration refuses to provide treatment and claims their diseases are incurable.
Additionally, pests have spread in bathrooms and sewage is seeping into tents that house prisoners. A lack of personal hygiene supplies and hot water has created an environment conducive to diseases and epidemics.
The prison is estimated to house 600 detainees, while the true number could be as high as 900.
The al-Mezan lawyer noted during his visit to the prison that prisoners are suffering from significant weakness and emaciation as well as decreased body weight due to being deprived of adequate nourishment.
They are provided with poor-quality meals that are insufficient to satisfy their hunger and do not contain the necessary proteins and vitamins that the body requires, which weakens the immune system and makes it easier for them to contract diseases.
Prisoners also recounted to the lawyer massive overcrowding, as each tent contains 30 prisoners and only 11 beds, forcing many to sleep on the floor. The tents are torn and worn out and do not protect against hot or cold weather.
Access to showers is limited to 3 minutes of cold water once a week without any hygiene supplies and mattresses are dirty with a widespread presence of cats exacerbating diseases.
Additionally, the prison administration removes the mattresses every morning and returns them in the evening. Plastic water bottles have not been replaced for about four months. The detainees are also denied family and lawyer visits and are held under the Unlawful Combatant Law, which strips them of fundamental legal rights such as being informed of the charges against them and the ability to defend themselves, undermining their right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence.
All detainees in the first months of their detention faced orders preventing them from meeting with a lawyer, and 70 detainees are still prohibited from visiting their lawyers. Palestinian prisoners from the Gaza Strip are held in the following Israeli prisons and detention centers: Negev Prison, Ashkelon Prison, Ofer Prison, Ofer Camp, Nafha Prison, Sde Teiman Camp, Jalameh Prison, Al-Maskobiyeh Prison, and Petah Tikva Interrogation Center.
Al Mezan warns of a threat to their lives and their continuous suffering, which is a serious violation of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention rules for the treatment of prisoners.
The Center calls on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities towards the residents of the occupied Palestinian territories and demands that the International Criminal Court immediately issue arrest warrants for those who ordered and carried out the serious crimes committed against the Palestinian people, especially prisoners.
The international community needs to end its silence, fulfill its legal and moral obligations, and implement the recommendations ordered by the International Court of Justice in its advisory opinion dated July 19 of this year.
'Israel' kills two Gaza detainees under torture
The Palestinian Authority for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs has announced that Israeli forces have arrested more than 10,100 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and occupied al-Quds since October 7, 2023.
In a detailed report, the Authority outlined the horrific conditions faced by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The report, based on visits by Palestinian lawyers to several detainees in the Israeli Ofer Prison, located in the occupied West Bank, revealed that an entire bloc of the prison had been emptied, with prisoners being transferred to other facilities.
The detainees disclosed to their lawyers that they had been subjected to severe beatings and mistreatment on multiple occasions. Some reported being assaulted even during their transfer to meet with their attorneys.
The prisoners also emphasized the dire conditions they are enduring, including significant weight loss due to what they described as a "starvation policy" imposed by prison authorities.
Earlier this month, the Palestinian Authority for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners' Club confirmed the death of 42-year-old detainee Islam Sarsawi from Gaza's Shujaiyya neighborhood.
Sarsawi, who was arrested during an Israeli raid on al-Shifa Hospital, died as a result of torture at the Sadiyah Taiman military camp.
In another tragic incident, Gaza's Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees reported the death of 26-year-old Omar Abdul Aziz Junaid from Jabalia. Junaid succumbed to severe torture during interrogation in an Israeli prison.
