Tough conditions, no basic equipment in Israeli jails

Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails and detention centres are subjected to harsh conditions, a report by the country’s Public Defender’s Office said.

According to Quds Press, Israeli newspapers said the report examined 24 Israeli prison facilities and ten detention centres last year.

The report found that there is a big gap between the detention conditions inside Israeli jails and in prisons in the West, noting that Israeli prisons have cramped cells, are unclean, with no rehabilitation programmes, and with a huge shortage of basic prison equipment.

Cells are only three metres wide in Israeli prisons, compared to eight metres in other countries.

The Israeli prison authority claimed it is currently renovating Israeli prisons.

Head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club and rights activist Qadura Fares told Quds Press that the Israeli report reinforces what has long been reported – harsh conditions of the Palestinian inmates inside Israeli jails.

Fares called for an investigation into this report and with it an increased awareness of the suffering of Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails, as well as support for protests undertaken by Palestinian prisoners.

Rights groups say that there are more than 6,500 Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails including 56 females, 350 minors, 11 MPs and 500 under administrative detention.

KD