Around 5,000 Palestinian prisoners appealed, on Wednesday, to concerned local and international bodies to ensure their own safety, inside Israeli jails. The prisoners’ appeal came in response to the widely-spread Coronavirus, worldwide and in Israel, where the prisoners are jailed.
A statement released by the prisoners read; “Increasingly, we feel unsafe inside Israeli jails, as the Coronavirus is said to have spread in many world countries and in Israel itself. Recently, the Israeli government has reportedly announced a series of preventive measures for its’ own citizens, while it continues to neglect us, despite the relevant international laws that stipulate the proper treatment for us. What if the Corona virus plagues us.”
The statement that carried a clear-cut letter to all concerned local and international right groups, pointed out that the Israeli Prisons Authority had only instructed prisoners to take some precautionary measures, bearing in mind that there are hundreds of sick prisoners, whose health conditions are extremely vulnerable to such viruses.
The prisoners asserted their right to proper safety measures and pointed out the fact that several Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have died due to what they described as negligence by Israeli Prisons Authority.
the statement held the Israeli government responsible, in case the Coronavirus begins to infect them, addressing the international community, imploring; “Do not abandon us, do not let us die slowly by means of diseases, you should act, before it is too late.”
In their letter, the prisoners listed patients with chronic diseases, who are currently detained in various Israeli jails, warning that unless those patients receive proper medical care, their health conditions will likely deteriorate, ending up in infections.
In related news, earlier Wednesday, media reports indicated that a chronically ill Palestinian prisoner, held in the Nafha Israeli prison, attempted to commit suicide, in protest of medical negligence by Israeli prison authorities.
The report said that a sick Palestinian prisoner attempted to set fire to the door of his cell, in protest of medical negligence, of which prisoners always complain.
Last week, local media reports hinted that four Palestinian prisoners in the Megiddo Israeli prison, have been infected by Coronavirus, however reports were not confirmed by either Palestinian or Israeli sources.
Currently, Israel holds approximately 5,000 Palestinian prisoners, including more than 150 juveniles and 43 women. Despite the signing of the Oslo peace accords by Israel in 1993, the Israeli policy of detaining Palestinians has not ended.
